The In Between Series 4 - Arizona Bound
by NeedtoKnow
Summary: Continuation of a Series of stories that fit "In Between" episodes that were aired so that some things can be better explained and explored. This story is set in between "The Magic Bus" and "ACM Kid." Just a quick drive to Arizona to demolish a town with the WTD Bus. What could possibly go wrong? Well for starters, Lee just found out he is having company for the drive.
1. Chap 1- Taking a Bullet For Your Country

**Disclaimer - "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" are copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. This story is for entertainment only. I will not make any money off it but do hope that at least some people will enjoy it. The Characters are not mine, I only took them out to play with them for awhile so they could help me tell the story. All the credit goes to Bruce and Kate and their wonderful supporting staff for portraying these wonderful characters so well that so many of us still love them so much today. The additional characters and this story are mine.**

I just want to thank everyone who has sent me nice comments about my stories. I really do appreciate the great feedback. Story is now Complete.

 **Chapter 1 - Taking a Bullet for Your Country**

Lee found himself sitting in an ER examining room at the insistence of one Billy Melrose. His exact words were "Lee, you have to drive nearly 3000 miles to Arizona, I need to make sure you are okay to do that. That leg could get infected if you don't have it looked after." They had used some local anesthesia to deaden the pain as they dug the bullet out of his leg. It had gone pretty deep and left a good sized hole so it was going to be a little painful for a few days but they cleaned it out, stitched it up and sent Lee on his way with some good painkillers.

It wasn't the first time Lee Stetson had been shot and surely it wouldn't be the last time. It just might have been one of the craziest times though. He had been assigned to try to infiltrate The Survivors Camp because they had kidnapped the Government's TWD otherwise known as a Total Weaponry Unit otherwise known as an RV but called a Bus and given the name, Vigilante. That was the Government for you, they could never make things easy. When Lee first saw this thing, he couldn't believe they had hidden all this weaponry inside an ugly RV and he exchanged disgusted looks with Francine over it. This was no ordinary RV as it was dangerous and valuable. When The Survivors stole it to force the return of two of their own, Gary and Gertrude or otherwise known as the Stewed Tomato Two, it was up to Lee to get it back before they used the Vigilante to kill many innocent people.

Lee had agreed with Billy when he suggested that Amanda go with him as a cover for a golfing outing with Gordon Standish and his wife. They would pretend to be a Reporter and Photographer who wanted to do an article on Gordon. This was a safe assignment for Amanda and no one else was available so it made sense. He had no idea she was so bad at golf though. In the end, even that worked out well since it allowed Amanda some bonding time with Gordon's wife who invited them on a retreat outing with The Survivors. Lee had done everything but beg Gordon for such an invitation and it was Amanda who scored it. When Amanda told him that she had been invited, he sat in his car looking at her in disbelief. How could this woman keep doing things that blew his mind? He wasn't able to get them to admit to anything and Amanda didn't even ask any questions and they just told her everything and asked her to go meet them.

That was where her involvement was supposed to end though. Lee knew it could get dangerous with these crazy people so he had told Amanda that she wasn't going on the retreat with him. They had even argued about it while in the elevator, finally agreeing to let Billy make the final decision. Billy quickly ended the argument by saying she was going. Lee knew he had lost. How was he to know though at the time, that it would be a blessing that she was with him?

He was truly awed at how well she had physically done on the retreat. She said that she worked out with Dave from Channel 12 each weekday and it definitely did show. As they were allowed to take a small break, they sat on the ground and she mentioned that she had never seen his legs before. He knew it wasn't true as she had recently seen them in the hospital but he figured it was a way for her to be able to point them out. When he asked her what she thought, she had simply said "Not bad." What a blow to his ego because he felt that he had great legs. They had just the right amount of muscle to make them bulk out while not be gross like those body builder types. They also had just the right amount of sandy colored hair so he didn't look like a gorilla like some men. For being such a ladies man, he realized how dumb he can be at times because it was only afterward that he realized it was Amanda's way to get him to compliment her on her absolutely gorgeous legs and he blew the opportunity. Well he didn't look at Amanda that way so it would have been unprofessional for him to tell her she had an amazingly, hot pair of legs, wouldn't it?

They had finished up the first round of exercises and had been given a 30 minute break so Amanda and Lee took a walk together. As they were walking and talking, Lee decided to call out Amanda on her insisting on staying on the case. She insisted that she felt it was her Patriotic duty but he knew better. She was loving the excitement of working for the agency. It was how he got involved too, it was like an addiction that you just couldn't stop. On one hand, you knew it could kill you but on the other hand, you would miss it if it stopped being a part of your life. He needed to keep reminding Amanda that it wasn't too late for her to get out though. She had 2 small boys at home, she didn't need to keep putting her life on the line like this. He told her that he didn't understand her but in Amanda fashion, she flipped the conversation around and told him that she didn't understand him and that he must have had a really interesting life so far. He stood staring at her once again wondering how she could change things around so easily and finally decided to give in to her and let her ask a question. Why did she have to ask why his code name was Scarecrow? He wasn't ready to talk to her about that. He didn't know if he would ever be ready to. He didn't mean to react the way he did but then she started asking about marriage and kids and he realized that he just wasn't ready to let Amanda King inside of his personal life yet. He changed the subject much to her disbelief but it really didn't matter because suddenly they were being held hostage by the "Weasel faced man" as Amanda called him.

They were ushered into the Vigilante and driven out to Donahue Dam. Lee couldn't believe that Standish planned to blow up the dam since doing so would kill many innocent people. He realized at that moment, just how insane these people were. What made his heart really hurt though was when Amanda looked at him and said "I'm scared." His job was to keep her safe and instead now it looked like they were both going to be murdered by these wackos. He needed to stop them but he also needed to save Amanda. She had a real life to get back to.

He was glad when they were left alone for a short while and he was able to break the jeep's headlight so they could use the glass to cut through the ropes they had been tied up with. He had let Amanda take the glass since her hands were smaller and more nimble so she had leverage for cutting through the ropes. She did a great job of getting them both free quickly. He left her by the jeep and got onto the roof of the Vigilante so he could blindside any of them that came out of the bus. He told Amanda to use the radio and get help as soon as he had control of the situation. He did admire the fact that she was brave and held it together that whole time even after admitting she was scared. Lee captured the two henchmen and was in the process of using them to take over the Vigilante when Marshall opened the Vigilante's door and pointed a gun at him. It took him by surprise and Standish along with his Minions were able to run off into the bushes and began shooting at him. He needed to give Amanda time to use the radio though so he kept them busy for as long as he could but then yelled to her to come back to him. Unfortunately as they were both trying to get into the bus, Gordon managed to shoot Lee in the leg. Since Lee fell to the ground right in the open, Gordon could have finished the job but he had to reload his pistol so it gave Amanda time to drag Lee into the Vigilante even as he was telling her to leave him. Once again, her failure to obey a direct order, saved his life. He was happy that as much as she followed rules normally, these types of things always seemed to bring out her rebel side.

It didn't take long to figure out that Gordon and his cronies had programmed the missiles to blow up the dam and the Vigilante had secured the glass panel so Lee couldn't assess the controls to shut it off. He told Amanda to drive them away from the dam while he worked on getting the damn thing open. His leg hurt like hell but he had a job to do and couldn't think about that now.

Lee had to admit that it was fun to use the water cannon to stop the Army. He knew it wouldn't hurt them and it was a bit of stress reliever but then he realized that he was running out of time so he went back to trying to get the panel open. Thank God they had put that stupid John Paul Jones statue as a mascot in the Vigilante. Lee was able to use it to smash out the glass in the panel and shut off the missiles and be the hero. He was pretty exhausted when Billy and Francine came in to find them both collapsed in the back of the Vigilante. They had worked together as a team and saved a lot of people.

Amanda was pretty handy with taping up his leg so it would stop bleeding but he drew the line on her digging out the bullet. He laughed as he thought about the fact that she even offered to sew up his jeans. She was something else. He hated admitting to Francine that he wasn't the one driving the bus though. It got worse when Amanda said that her driving experience was from going to NYC during Macy's Parade while Lee had been given extensive driving courses before he could drive that well. It was a little embarrassing that a housewife from Arlington drove this stupid thing better than he could have.

So when Amanda asked him to rate her work, he just couldn't tell her what he really thought. She had done a really good job but if he told her that, he would never convince her that this wasn't a career she should be following. He had to come up with an answer quickly and decided the best thing to do was to tease her. He loved teasing her, there was just something about it that made him smile but not in a mean way. He wasn't sure if it was because she could take his teasing and give it back to him or if he loved seeing her smile when she realized he was teasing her. So in answer to how he would rate her work, he said "not bad." After all, that was what she had said about his legs. It was only fair to use her words back at her. She not only called him petty, but challenged him with a stare down. God the woman was beautiful when she was ticked. Oh there he went again. Amanda was not his type so why did he keep having those thoughts. He realized he couldn't help it though as he stared into those beautiful brown eyes that were challenging him. It tickled him to see her show this side of herself. In the end, they couldn't help themselves and first Amanda began giggling and then Lee joined in. He loved hearing her laugh. She certainly could drive him crazy. He even thought he might miss her while he was driving to Arizona but he quickly let that thought go because he might never see her again and that would be best for both of them. She sure was stubborn though. He had met his match in the stubborn department.

Billy told Lee that he would have Sargent Clive from the Army drive the Vigilante back to the city so that he could go have his leg taken care of. The Sargent would drop him off at the hospital and the agency would send someone over later to pick up. He should plan to leave first thing in the morning for the trip to Arizona. What he didn't tell him was that he would be having company. Billy realized that it made sense to have 2 people do this trip anyway since they could trade off driving and when they got to the fake town, one would need to drive while the other took care of the firing the weapons. He just needed the right person to send along with Scarecrow and he already knew who that would be as long as she would accept.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2 - Not Bad

**Chapter 2 - Not Bad**

There never seemed to be a dull moment in Amanda King's life anymore. She had gotten a phone call from Lee who tried to smooth over the fact that an RV was being delivered to her house and being parked in her driveway without asking for permission first and without any real warning so she could prepare how she would explain it to her family. Lee loved telling her it was Billy's idea as if that made everything okay. Amanda wanted to help her country but where should she draw the line? She was going to have a horrible time explaining this one to her Mother. She quickly came up with the story that there was some miscommunication as it was really her friend Sheila who had ordered the RV because she wanted to surprise her husband with a trip. She had asked Amanda if she could store the RV in her driveway overnight. Dotty looked at Amanda with a look of disbelief but let the subject drop.

The next day, Amanda had gotten up early to pack a nice lunch and some snacks for Lee's trip. She doubted he would appreciate it but she just couldn't send him out without providing a meal for him. She was a mother after all and that was what Mothers did. She was almost done packing a picnic basket when she heard the RV start up and looked out to see a man she had never seen before driving it away. He was a strange looking man with a weasel like face. She immediately called the agency to let them know. Billy insisted she come in to the agency so they could try to help her remember as much as possible and get a statement from her. She had already promised Jamie that she would take him shopping for more fish since his last ones had died. She told Billy that she needed to do that first and then would stop by within the hour. She figured it would be a quick question and answer time so she left Jamie in the car with his fish and told him she would be right back after reminding him to keep the doors locked and the windows down just enough to let air blow through. Thankfully it was the fall so it wouldn't be too hot in the car. After being questioned, Billy had asked her to wait for them out in the Bullpen. She did try to be patient but after 30 minutes, she knew she had to go interrupt them. She had hoped to get Lee's attention and just let him know that she needed to leave but that other man, Marshall, had noticed her and the meeting was stopped so that Amanda could tell Billy that she had to go. She felt bad about interrupting but her son always had to be her first priority and she was not willing to explain why a second batch of fish died. Thankfully the fish made it home safely and Jamie was thrilled to have them.

Later, as Amanda was trying to fix the leaky kitchen faucet, her Mother accused her of having an affair. Imagine, Amanda King having an affair? Her Mother believed she was having a sexual relationship with Dean though and that wasn't happening either but she decided not to deny it since her Mother would likely go into all the reasons why she should be. Oh Dean, what was she going to do about Dean? She wished that she loved him as much as he claimed he loved her but there just wasn't any real sparks. At some point, she had to evaluate where their relationship was going but at that moment, Lee's head popped up in her kitchen window and all thoughts turned to him. Once again, he had just shown up forgetting that real people lived in this house and they wouldn't understand him being there. He needed her to help him play a cover and it was important. He teased her that she would be playing his caddie but actually, he had planned that he would be the big shot reporter while she was his trusted photographer for Success Magazine. The plan was to go golfing with Gordon Standish who seemed like a nice Christian guy but apparently was suspected of being a terrorist. Amanda hated golf. She hated watching golf, and she certainly had no desire to play golf. Why did people enjoy hitting a poor defenseless ball around a bunch of grass anyway? The sport made no sense to her at all. Now Tennis made sense. It was relaxing, great exercise and took skill. She agreed to go golfing with Lee but knew she was going to hate it.

Amanda had taken photo journalism as a minor in college so this was a perfect cover for her. Unfortunately she hadn't touched a really good camera in years and the one that the agency had supplied was a little more complicated than she remembered using in college. Looking back, she should have practiced with it before they went on the assignment but everything had been so rushed that she didn't have time to. She was convincing enough though and the Standish's liked all the attention so they didn't question why it took Amanda so long to get the shot of the two of them. Mrs. Standish seemed to like teasing Amanda and definitely enjoyed the fact that Amanda's ball kept ending up in the swamp or the sand pit. Amanda normally didn't believe in cheating but since she hated golf so much, she didn't feel it was exactly cheating if she bent the rules a bit and just pretended that her ball made the green. Mrs. Standish would have none of that and insisted they go find it each time it got stuck somewhere. It worked out though because it gave them time to be alone and have some nice chats. She told Amanda that she could see she was very fit and seemed to be very health conscience so she wondered if she would be interested in going on a retreat that was being put on by The Survivors. She had insisted that they were nothing special, perfectly harmless and comparable to the local Rotary Club. Amanda agreed to go since she knew that was the organization that Lee was trying to find out more about. She asked Mrs. Standish if she could bring a guest and she had smiled and said "Amanda, of course you can bring Brad." (Brad of course was the name that Lee was using for his cover)

When Lee and Amanda had walked back to the car with their golf bags, Lee ranted about how he couldn't get Gordon Standish to admit to anything about The Survivors and that it had been a waste of time to golf with them. Amanda very innocently told him that Mrs. Standish had admitted that they were members and had even invited her to the retreat that weekend. Amanda said in the most nonchalant way possible "Want to come?" The look on Lee's face had been priceless and well worth all the aggravation of having to play golf all day. It was a fun way to pay him back only she did have a headache and couldn't seem to find any aspirin in her purse.

Thinking back at what happened afterward always brought a smile to Amanda. She was once again finding herself in a full blown argument with Lee as they entered the agency over whether she was going on the retreat or not. As they entered the elevator, Lee kindly clipped her guest pass onto her shirt and then fumbled with his own so without missing a beat, Amanda took over and pinned it on his shirt for him. She laughed thinking about how they had acted like a married couple. Amanda shook her head thinking about what an interesting life it would be if she was married to Lee. The argument continued as the elevator made its way down to the offices and Lee tried to discourage her from wanting to go by saying they would be made to wear a loin cloth and eat roots. She didn't buy it at all and they had both agreed that they would let Billy decide if Amanda was going or not. Billy was waiting for them as they walked toward the Bullpen and said simply "She's going." Amanda couldn't help but look up and gloat at Lee but thankfully he never saw her expression as he wasn't used to not having the final word.

They had arrived at the camp and after dumping their sleeping bags and supplies in their assigned tents, they were told to line up so they could begin warm up exercises. For the next 30 minutes, everyone warmed up with pushups, jumping jacks. Lunges, squats and some stretches. They then set out for a 5 mile run. Most of the people were very out of shape and could barely handle it, but Amanda noticed that Lee didn't look really winded. As they were given a chance to take a break before the next exercise, Amanda noticed how sexy Lee's legs looked. She was not in any way going to stroke his ego though so she brought up that she had never seen them before. She realized later that he knew as well as she did that she had seen them in the hospital but she was glad he didn't call her out on it. He asked her what she thought of them and the first thing that came to mind was "Not Bad". It was a nice neutral thing to say but of course Lee took it as a bit of an insult. Amanda knew she had really nice legs and expected him to compliment hers so when he didn't, she didn't want to push his ego too much. Later she thought she was finally going to get him to open a little when he said she could ask him a question. She wanted to know why he was called Scarecrow as his codename and Billy wouldn't tell her. He told her that she would have to ask Lee so she did. He immediately reacted and said that it was personal which took her off guard. So she decided to try getting other information out of him and asked him about having a wife and kids and he totally changed the subject. She didn't know if that meant he had 1 or both or he didn't want either. One day maybe she would figure him out. The Weasel Faced man showed up right after that with a gun pointed at them and made them go to the Vigilante for a drive. When they got out, they were facing Donahue Dam and Gordon enjoyed telling them how he was going to blow up the dam if he didn't get what he wanted. Lee had been right, this man was not a nice man at all. Suddenly this job wasn't as exciting and Amanda was scared. She was so scared that she admitted it to Lee. They were then tied up to the front of a jeep and left while The Survivors went back into the bus. Lee and Amanda tried to untie the ropes from each other but they just couldn't seem to grab the right ends at the same time to make it work. At one point, Lee accidentally grabbed Amanda's butt; at least it appeared to be an accident. She had to remind him to watch where he was putting his hands. Then suddenly he told her to get down behind him to avoid the flying glass and he used this foot to kick the headlight in the jeep. Amanda had to admit that she was pretty impressed. He was definitely good at his job. He handed over a shard of glass to her telling her that she was more nimble and could cut better while he used his strength to try to break the ropes as the cutting weakened them. They worked well as a team and were soon both loose. Lee told Amanda to call for help on the radio as soon as the coast was clear and then climbed onto the roof of the Vigilante. He was soon able to jump on top of both the weasel faced man and the other guy and Amanda ran to the CB radio and placed the call. It was good that Joe had one of these things when he was in college so she knew how to use it. She couldn't reach anyone so she just gave a message to call the agency's phone number with enough information that Billy would know it was them and where they were. Amanda heard Lee yelling for her to come over so she gave up and ran to where he was. Just as she got on the bus, she saw Lee fall down from a bullet wound to the leg and ran out to help him into the bus. He told her to leave him. What was it with men and their egos? After he was safely inside, she called him on it and he claimed that the agency trained them to say that. It was good she hadn't gone through training yet if that was the case cause that was the silliest thing she had ever heard.

Lee took over trying to shut the missiles off while Amanda tried to drive the bus away from the dam. The road they were on was full of pot holes though so the steering wheel was bouncing Amanda all over the place. She had the bus going as fast as it would go which made it very hard to keep it under control but Amanda was determined to save them and the dam. She suddenly ran right into an Army Troop and thought they would save them but instead, they began firing at them. She led them on a merry chase but accidentally turned back toward the dam and then almost ran right into a tank. They were quickly surrounded and told to come out with their hands up. The bus had other ideas though and had sealed the doors so she couldn't get out. Just as the Army was about to destroy the bus and its occupants, Billy noticed Amanda's frantic waving and told them not to shoot. It was at that same time that Lee managed to get the panel up and shut off the missiles. Billy was able to use his security pass to enter the bus and found Lee collapsed in the chair in the back with Amanda on the floor, both totally exhausted. Lee told him that he got it shut off, it wouldn't fire. Billy told him that he did a good job and then kindly looked at Amanda and asked her if she was okay. Amanda really liked Billy. He was always looking out for her. She would do almost anything for him. He helped her stand up and they all got off the bus. Amanda realized that Lee was still bleeding pretty heavily from the gunshot wound and offered to bandage it up. Lee didn't want her to at first but Billy insisted so he finally sat down and let her. Her training at the hospital came in handy and soon she had him all bandaged up. She offered to fix his pants too but he refused, likely because he wanted to keep them as a souvenir. Francine had interrupted them to tell Lee that he did a great job driving. Amanda challenged Lee to tell the truth with just a look and Lee looked pained as he admitted it was Amanda who drove instead of him. Francine asked her how she had managed and she told her about taking the boys to NYC for Thanksgiving to see the Macy's Parade. That was part of it, but the other part was that her father was determined that she would learn to drive since her Mother had never wanted to. He would take her into the Mountains of Virginia and force her to drive fast down winding dirt country roads until she was confident and could handle herself behind the wheel. It sure paid off today. Regardless, it was priceless to see Francine speechless that Amanda was the driver and not Lee. It was not often that Francine was speechless and it too all she had not to laugh as Francine walked away. Lee then got up and started what Amanda affectionately called the Lee Sidestep Dance.

Lee said "Look, they'll be giving you a ride home. I guess I'll be seeing you, maybe, but then again, maybe I won't. You Know."

She knew that he knew as much as she knew that she wasn't going anywhere and that she would be seeing him again but he loved to do this dance. So she decided to force the issue and make him compliment her on her work. She had not only gotten them invited to the retreat but then had driven the darn bus and saved them from being blown up by the Army. She definitely felt she deserved a compliment. Instead, he said her work was not bad. She shook her head in disbelief and he explained that since she thought his legs were just okay, then her work was not bad. Jamie was more mature acting than that and she told him how petty he sounded. His hazel eyes became challenging and asked her if she cared to change her opinion and the two of them began a staring standoff. After a few moments, Amanda realized how silly they both looked and began giggling and it caused Lee to start laughing too. Francine gave them both a dirty look and it made them laugh even harder. Billy interrupted them to ask Amanda if he could take her home and she agreed.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3 - The Ride Home

**Chapter 3 - The Ride Home**

Billy told Francine to ride back with one of the Army Lieutenants so he could talk to Amanda privately. He helped her into his car and the two of them began making their way back to Arlington.

"Amanda, you did a great job with this case. I just want you to know that I noticed."

"Well thank you sir. I appreciate that."

"I also noticed how well you handled the Vigilante. That was very impressive. The Army people were amazed that a civilian could handle it that well and elude their troops." Billy chuckled and said "Amanda, I think I might need to be careful about losing you because they might hire you to teach those kids how to drive."

Amanda smiled appreciatively and said "Thank you sir. I do enjoy driving and other than being scared that I was going to be killed, it was fun."

Billy smiled and patted Amanda's hand. "You are a very brave woman. Not every woman would be willing to get involved in this crazy business and then not run away when the times get tough. You are really good for Lee too. He told me how you disobeyed him and pulled him into the bus after he was shot. That was very brave."

"I don't know about brave but I couldn't just leave him out there to die. Plus I didn't know anything about how to shut the missiles off. He took care of all of that, I just drove."

"You don't give yourself nearly enough credit. I'm not surprised though. That is likely why Lee is allowing you to work with him. You know he could flat out refuse to continue if he really didn't want you there. I can't totally force him to have you team up with him especially since you are a civilian. Deep down, I think he knows that the two of you work well together and he knows that you have saved his butt."

"Do you think so sir? He always acts so annoyed that I come along. Sometimes, he is really nice to me though. He is definitely an interesting man. I sure don't understand him though. I took your suggestion and asked him how he got his code name and he refused to tell me."

"Oh Amanda, that is a personal subject for him. There is sadness in that one. Someday, he might tell you about it but he didn't even tell me. I found out about it second hand. Don't let that discourage you, okay?"

Amanda smiled and said "okay. Thanks."

"There was another reason why I wanted to have some private time with you Amanda. I need a favor."

"Oh, oh, I don't think I'm going to like this."

"It isn't bad and it is totally safe. As you know Lee has to drive the Vigilante to Arizona. That's a long trip for a healthy man but now I have a man who is going to be sore from having a bullet removed from his leg. I'm guessing that the Doctor will give him some pain meds because it is going to throb for a day or two and though he is good at masking pain normally, riding cramped in that RV is going to be torture. Amanda, I want you to go with him. You can help him drive it there and let him rest his leg and take some pain meds so he can rest a bit. The plan is for you to roll into a fake town in Arizona in a week and blow it up. Lee can't do both the driving and deal with the weapons so it would be good to have you along so you can drive. Afterward, we would fly you both home and of course the Agency would pay you well for being away from home for a week. Can you help us out and do this?" 

"Sir, I would love to help but my Mother is already thinking I'm having an affair. How would I ever explain that I'm going to be out of town for a week?"

"Well you told her you went on this retreat right? How about telling her that all who attended have been invited for an additional week at a special retreat out of town."

"You know she didn't buy the story about the retreat even though it was somewhat true. I doubt she is going to believe any story I come up with. I could really use the money though and it will be fun to go to Arizona so I'll do it, Sir."

"That's great Amanda. I knew I could count on you. Let me know if you need me to do anything to help with your cover with your Mother."

"Well sir, for right now, I think you should pull over and let me out here. I can walk the last couple of blocks home so she doesn't see that I'm in a car with a man. You understand, don't you?"

"Of Course Amanda. Can you be at the agency by 7am? I want to get you both started at 8am sharp."

"Do you think Lee will be able to get up that early?"

"I think I can arrange it by giving him a wakeup call in the morning." Billy smiled at Amanda.

"Thank you sir and I'll see you in the morning."

"Bye Amanda"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4 - The King Household

**Chapter 4 - The King Household**

Amanda walked the rest of the way home and entered through the front door. She made her way to the kitchen to find it empty. She yelled up the stairs that she was home but no one answered her. She noticed that her mother had written on the chalk board that she had taken the boys out to eat and would be back around 6pm. That gave Amanda some time to prepare so she went upstairs and began packing her bag for the week. She wouldn't need much since this was not really a vacation but she needed it to look convincing for her Mother so she packed extra including a red gown just in case she needed something dressy. She was totally packed by the time her family came home. The boys ran to her and gave her hugs since they hadn't seen her for a couple of days while her Mother seemed to be checking her over.

"Well Amanda, dear, I have to admit that you do look refreshed. Did you enjoy the retreat?"

"Oh I did Mother. It was a very interesting experience and I learned a lot about my body. I made some new friends too."

"Oh, that's nice dear. You will have to invite them to dinner one night so I can meet them. Were they male or female?"

"M-O-T-H-E-R! They are lovely ladies. I'm sure they would love to come to dinner some night. We have to talk though. Boys, why don't you run up and do your homework and I'll be up shortly to check it out, okay?"

"Yes Mommy" They both said together and then raced up the stairs with Phillip beating Jamie by only 2 steps.

"What is it that you want to talk to me about Amanda? Wait, let me guess. You wanted to let me know that you did go away with a man this past weekend and now you are torn between him and Dean."

Amanda bit her lip thinking that might be some truth in that but immediately said "Mother, I told you I wasn't having an affair. It is good that you brought up Dean though because I just remembered that he will be in California for the Weather Conference all this week. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I did have a great time at the retreat and realized that I should have done it much sooner. They were really good to us too and everyone who attended was given a special invitation to an even bigger, more important retreat out of town for the next week and I really want to go. Would you mind staying with the boys so I can?"

Amanda's mother looked at her like she was trying to read her mind. When did Amanda get so good at coming up with stories? She shook her head and decided that if Amanda needed to get away that badly, then she would let it pass at this time.

"Amanda, if that is what you need to do, then I hope it does you good. You have been very scattered lately and seem to not be as organized like you always were. I will gladly stay with the boys on one condition..."

"Thank you Mother. What is the condition?"

"Okay, 2 conditions actually. I want you to have fun but I also want you to check in every day. Can you do that Amanda?" Dotty Asked.

"Yes Mother I can do that." Amanda said and gave her Mother a relieved hug. Dotty knew there was more to this story but she knew her daughter well enough to know that she wasn't ready to tell it yet. She decided it was better to give her blessing then to have Amanda stressed out.

"When do you leave dear?"

"First thing in the morning Mother and I'll be back in a week. Thank you for helping me out with this. It means a lot to me."

"You are welcome darling. Now why don't you go spend some time with those boys of yours while I settle down with my romance book?"

Amanda spent the rest of the evening making sure the boys got their homework done and then tucked them into bed. She went to bed early and was up at 5am to finish getting ready. She arrived at the agency just before 7am and took the elevator down to the agency. Billy met her and said that Lee should be arriving at any minute as he had gotten several wake up calls to make sure he got up. Amanda was excited and nervous for this new adventure. Would Lee be okay with her going with him? She looked forward to spending a week with him but was worried that he wouldn't want to spend the week with her. This was either going to be a fun trip or a very long trip depending on how Lee took the news.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5 - She's Not Going

**Chapter 5 - She's Not Going**

Lee arrived at 7:10am and limped right by Amanda to the coffee station. He poured himself a hot cup of coffee, added a little bit of cream and put the cup up to his mouth to take a drink when he realized that Amanda was standing there. "Amanda? What are you doing here? Don't you remember that I have to drive the Vigilante to Arizona? I'm sure that means that there is nothing for you to do here and it is a shame you drove in so early in the morning for nothing."

"I asked Mrs. King to come Lee." Billy interrupted and said.

Lee whipped his head around to look at Billy and said "You did? Why Billy? You know that she really shouldn't work with anyone but me since she is a civilian. Who are you going to team her with and what can she possibly do?"

"Why Lee, I didn't think you wanted to be teamed with Mrs. King. You are always protesting and telling me that you don't need a partner. Are you having a change of heart?"

"Dammit Billy, this isn't funny." Lee rubbed his hand through his hair as he struggled with his emotions. On one hand, he didn't think Amanda should be working for the agency but if she was going to work there, he needed to be the one she worked with so he could protect her. No one else would make sure she stayed safe like he did. He felt responsible for dragging her into this by giving her that package.

"Excuse me, I'm standing right here. I can hear everything you are saying." Amanda said. She was getting a little frustrated with them both talking like she was invisible.

"Lee, I have asked Amanda to help with a very important assignment. It has recently come to light that she has some special skills that we could use so I decided to utilize those skills. That reminds me, how is your leg?"

"Are you trying to change the subject Billy? My leg hurts like hell but I will live and be fine. The damn bullet grazed my leg muscle so the Doctor told me that it is going to hurt for a while. Now let's get back to the subject of Amanda please. What assignment are you giving to her while I'm out of town?"

Billy smiled and said "I am worried that your leg might make it hard for you to complete your assignment so I thought you might like some help. Amanda has kindly agreed to help you drive the Vigilante to Arizona"

Lee stared at Billy in disbelief. What? No Billy, I can do it all by myself like we planned. Amanda has a family here, she doesn't need to be escorting me all the way to Arizona. No, I put my foot down on this one. SHE IS NOT GOING, end of subject."

On that final comment, Lee marched to the Men's room to go calm down.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6 - She's Going

**Chapter 6 - She's Going**

Billy winked at Amanda and told her to have a seat in his office while they waited for Lee to calm down. It took about 20 minutes for Lee to come out of the Men's room and head for Billy's office. He walked in and began pacing while he kept rubbing his hand into his hair. He didn't speak, he just paced while Billy and Amanda waited. Finally he stopped and looked at Amanda and started to speak but changed his mind and began pacing again. Billy looked at his watch and realized they were running out of time so he said "Lee, be reasonable. You can't drive and do the weapons once you hit the fake town. Amanda has proven her driving skills and will be very useful to this mission. Plus, you said yourself that your leg still hurts. This will allow you to be able to stretch it and not feel cramped in the driver's seat the whole time. It just all makes sense man. Don't blow this. Let's work as a team and impress them with our abilities."

Lee stopped pacing again and looked at Billy. "Okay, you are right. I do need help. I'm not happy about this. We have interrupted _Mrs. King's_ life enough."

"Lee, why don't you let me decide that." Amanda reminded him. "I already cleared it with Mother and she will watch the boys. Billy promised to fly us home as soon as the mission is over. What could go wrong?"

Lee's face contorted and he said sarcastically, "Oh yes, what could go wrong? Famous last words, I'm sure. Okay, let's get this thing moving."

Billy said "One more thing, Lee. Unfortunately it was decided not to send out an escort with you. Now that The Survivors are under control, the Government didn't feel that there was any threat from any groups to try to capture the Vigilante. They sent out the fake Vigilante this morning and feel that it will be enough. They said they are already way over budget on this project since so much ammunition was used up yesterday and they just couldn't see spending more on an escort. You should be fine on your own right?

"Sure Billy. I can handle it."

Amanda made a face and said under her breath "We can handle it."

Billy said "Good. Now because of the delay The Survivors caused, we were able to convince the Military, Congressional Top Brass and Media to give us an additional 5 days to get the Vigilante out to the town in Arizona. You should be able to arrive in Arizona in 4 days, get a good night's sleep and then hit the town bright and early on the 5th day. Here is a list of hotels that you can stay at along the way. I'll let you decide where you want to eat."

They went outside the agency and approached the Bus. Amanda had repacked the picnic basket that she had originally packed for just Lee and loaded it onto the bus while Billy carried her bag and laid it down inside. He gave Lee an envelope of cash for expenses and reminded them to check in every day with the agency. He smiled at Amanda and got off the bus and they closed the door and were on their way. It was smooth sailing from here. What could possibly go wrong indeed?

TBC


	7. Chapter 7- I'll Tell You, If You Tell Me

**Chapter 7 - I'll Tell you, if You Tell Me**

Lee decided he would take over the driving to begin with. Amanda got comfortable in the passenger seat with the map to help navigate their progress. The plan was stop outside of Nashville for the night, which meant driving for about 11 hours not counting breaks. The first hour, they both sat in silence but eventually Amanda couldn't stand the quiet and decided to start talking.

"Do we know anything about this town that we are going to go destroy Lee?"

"All we really know is that it is located in Yuma, Arizona at the Yuma Proving Ground which is an Army facility for these kinds of tests. I have never been there personally but I'm sure they did a great job creating a fake town for us. ,

"Well it should be a fun adventure then."

"Yeah. Amanda, it is really bugging me why it was so important for you to come along. I know how much you love your family and to be away from them for a week when this is a mission that doesn't even have any excitement, just baffles me."

"I don't know Lee. I guess I just felt like I needed to watch your tail on this like I do on all the other cases we are on. I felt like if I didn't go with you, something bad could happen."

"Awww, come on Amanda, nothing bad is going to happen. This is just a long drive to a boring place in Arizona where no one will even be fighting back. Hell I didn't even want to do this one because this is not my idea of fun. But there you are, smiling away at me, as always, with your cheerful voice sounding like this is the most fun you have had in months."

"I kind of like having some time alone with you so we can get to know each other better. Maybe you will answer some of my questions now."

Lee groaned. Here we go, she was going to try to tap into his personal life and wasn't going to give up.

"I know so little about you Lee. I know you enjoy the company of young women but has any of them ever stolen your heart? Have you ever gotten married?"

"Amanda, if you must know, I have never been married. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the marrying type. I have a dangerous job that most women wouldn't understand and most would never accept. I never know when I'll be sent out of town. Sometimes those assignments can mean that I'm not even allowed contact with loved ones. It's not much of a life for a mate and I kind of like not having to be committed to any one woman anyway. I have enjoyed the company of women from many different locations if you must know and each one has her own appeal. I'm not the marrying kind though. Besides, I like being alone. Being alone means you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself. If I constantly had to worry about a woman, I might not be able to do my job as well." Lee glanced at Amanda realizing that that was part of the problem. He had begun worrying about Amanda whenever she was on a case with him. Would it come to a point when she could cause a case to go bad or force him to do something he shouldn't to save her? He wasn't sure what his feelings were for Amanda, but he certainly didn't want her to get hurt."

Amanda noticed that Lee was staring at her but didn't mention it. "I understand Lee. It is just that having all those women parade in and out of your life must cause stress too though. Don't you ever wonder what it would be like to find the right one?"

"Amanda, I don't have time for such silliness. So what's your story? You are a divorced housewife. Tell me about that."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Wait, so you expect me to talk about my relationships but you don't want to talk about your divorce?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

And with that, there was silence in the bus again.

After a couple of hours, Amanda asked Lee if he was getting hungry as she had packed snacks in the picnic basket. She had apples, plums, grapes, cheese and crackers along with a macaroni salad. She told him that she had included a bottle of wine for them to enjoy at night. Lee smiled and said "That was thoughtful Amanda. It is nearly lunchtime though so why don't we pull over and have a real meal at a restaurant and then we can use your snacks in between meals. Is that okay?"

Amanda agreed and they found a Denny's along the highway and stopped to have lunch. They kept the conversation light and talked about the area. Anyone who saw them would think they were a couple heading out on a camping trip. After Lunch, Amanda suggested that she drive especially since she had noticed that Lee kept trying to stretch his leg out as he was obviously cramping up. Lee made no attempt to argue and let Amanda take the Driver's seat. He was impressed with her driving skills and told her again so she would know he trusted her. The toll his body had taken from being shot had caught up to him though and he found himself growing sleepy. He apologized to Amanda but knew he was going to fall asleep on her and she told him that she understood.

Amanda drove in silence for the next couple of hours. She realized she shouldn't have reacted the way she did when Lee asked about the divorce. It was probably one of the biggest embarrassments of her life. She had loved Joe with all her heart. She still did. They had been young and full of so many ideas. Joe had always wanted to do charity work and Amanda had always supported him but then she got pregnant with Phillip and things changed. She realized that her son was the most important thing and that their lives needs to adjust around him. Sadly Joe didn't feel the same way though and so Amanda stayed behind while Joe became more active in his work and came home less and less. She didn't want a divorce though. She wanted her marriage to work and was determined to make it work. If Joe had been abusive, it would have made it easier to make a decision but he was a kind man. His heart was sincere and he really did mean well but he just wasn't ready for a family. They began arguing a lot about it. During one of their makeup times, Jamie had been conceived and now there was even more reason for Joe to stay home but he just wasn't ready. Every time Amanda considered a divorce, she would talk herself out of it because she didn't believe in them. She had taken her wedding vows very seriously and "for better or for worse" meant that you stuck by your spouse. They might have continued this way for years but then one day when Joe was at home and getting ready to leave again, Phillip had asked why his dad didn't love him enough to stay. Amanda realized that it was hard on the boys for Joe to walk in and out of their lives like it didn't matter and it was hurting them. It was what finally made her decide that it was time to let him go. She wasn't interested in anyone else, didn't want to be with anyone else. She didn't ask for alimony. She just asked to keep the house so her sons would have a home and for Joe to help by sending child support money. He agreed and they very quietly got divorced. Amanda mourned the loss of her marriage for a couple of weeks until her Mother came over one day and chastised her for letting it get her down. It was at that moment that they both knew they needed each other and Dorothy West agreed to move in and help Amanda raise her Grandsons. Joe wrote to the boys all the time and he sent letters now and then to Amanda but the divorce was like lifting a weight off his back and he no longer felt the need to visit. Amanda would tell him what the boys needed for their birthdays and Christmas and he would send it. The boys just always thought that he knew what they wanted. Amanda never talked bad about Joe especially in front of the boys. She didn't harbor any bad feelings towards him and deep down she still loved him. If he came home tomorrow and said that he was home to stay, she wasn't sure that she could refuse him a spot in her life. She also knew that there was very little chance of that happening. She didn't regret marrying him. She had two beautiful sons with him and they were the reminders of the good times. She was definitely not ready to share any of that with Lee though any more than he appeared to be ready to share his love life with her.

The time flew by with her thoughts and soon it was turning dark. The agency list had a local Hotel just outside of Nashville on it and Amanda found it without any trouble and pulled into the parking lot. She gently nudged Lee to wake him.

Lee slowly opened his eyes and looked around and said "Where are we?"

"We just pulled into the first hotel. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I wasn't very good company. I can't believe how tired I am."

"It is okay, why don't we go check in and have some dinner and then you can rest for the night."

"It sounds good to me. Amanda, we do need to talk about this though. Our cover is that we are traveling in a camper to go camping in Arizona and we are man and wife. I forgot to give you back the wedding ring but here you go."

"Why do we need a cover? No one knows we are doing this."

"Billy felt that just in case we strike up any interest along the way, that we should look legitimate and appear to be a couple. I'm sorry Amanda. It means we have to share a room again."

Amanda looked at Lee for a moment and said "Can't we at least ask for two beds. We can say that you snore so I don't like sleeping in the same bed as you."

Lee sighed and said "you know that will probably be fine. Let's see if they have two beds."

As luck would have it, the hotel did have a room with two Queen Beds and the front clerk didn't bat an eye as they explained why they needed two beds. The room was adequate. It wasn't large but it had a nice desk along with a little bar and small refrigerator. They had asked the desk clerk if there was a Restaurant nearby and she had suggested an Italian place next door. It was a beautiful night and they enjoyed the walk over. Amanda felt Lee guide her with his hand on the small of her back. She didn't think that Joe had ever touched her in such a way. He would hold her hand when they would walk sometimes but it was comforting to have a man guide her with this simple touch. They both ordered a salad along with a dish of Chicken Primavera. Lee picked out a nice wine to go along with the meal and once again they found themselves just enjoying some light talk while eating their meal.

When they walked back to the hotel, Amanda felt Lee's protective hand again guiding her on the small of her back. As they entered their room, it got a little awkward until Amanda said that she would like to take a nice hot shower to wash some of the dust from the trip off. Lee agreed that she should go first and so she grabbed her nightgown and robe along with her makeup bag and entered the bathroom. She then hopped into the shower. Meanwhile, Lee began pacing and wondering if he was going to be able to spend the night in the same room as her. He realized that they had not checked in at all with the agency so he called and left a message for Billy that they had arrived at the hotel and would be leaving by 7am in the morning. He then sat on his bed while patiently waiting for his turn in the shower.

Amanda enjoyed the hot spray that hit her body and she completely soaped up and then rinsed off. She applied shampoo and then conditioner to her hair and after rinsing, she let the water pound on her for a couple of minutes before reluctantly shutting it off, toweling off and getting out of the shower. She dressed in her Night gown and put her robe on and then opened the door slowly hopping Lee had gone to bed but found him sitting on his bed staring out the window. She quickly went to her bed and climbed onto it while pulling the covers up over her lap. Lee didn't miss any of it. In fact, it took his breath away to see her in her nightgown and robe. Her long legs could be seen as she walked across the floor and he couldn't help but notice how long and sexy they looked. Wait, this was Amanda. He didn't have feelings towards her. What was he doing? Obviously since it had been several days since he had had the company of any of the women from the Steno Pool, he was feeling the effects. Amanda looked up to see him staring at her and blushed. "Lee, is there something wrong? You are looking at me strangely."

"I'm sorry Amanda, I was just thinking about the long drive tomorrow and how we should get some rest. I'm going to grab a shower now and then we won't need to shower in the morning and can get an early start."

"That sounds good. I'm going to call Mother while you shower."

Lee escaped into the bathroom and leaned against the bathroom door to catch his breath. She was a beautiful woman but she was way out of his league and he knew it. Besides, he wasn't looking for a commitment and Amanda wasn't one to just have an affair. He was sure of that. Lee quickly stripped and got in the shower and turned the water to cold. It was going to be a long trip if he didn't stop having these thoughts.

Amanda had felt weird when she noticed Lee staring at her. She couldn't quite read what he was thinking and she couldn't help but wonder if he was still upset that Billy had insisted she come along. She shook the thoughts out of her head and picked up the phone to call her Mother.

"Hi Mother. Is everything okay with you and the boys?"

"Oh Hi Amanda, yes the boys are good. They are outside playing baseball right now or otherwise, I would put them on to talk to you. Are you having a good time? Getting lots of rest and feeling less stress?"

"Yes Mother, it has been an interesting time so far. I'm learning all kinds of things that I didn't know before. I'm exhausted though so I'm going to turn in early. Please give the boys a hug and kiss from me and tell them that I love them."

"Okay, I will do that. They will be sorry they missed you. Dean called too. I guess you forgot to tell him that you would be away. He was awful concerned about you going off to a retreat with all these strange people without telling us where it is and giving us a way to contact us. He even mentioned that he hoped it wasn't one of those gatherings of the Moonies. Amanda, Dear, you haven't gone and joined a cult have you? I mean with all the times you disappear and seem to be disorganized, it would make sense if you did."

"Mother I did not join a cult. I promise you and before you ask, I will not go out and join one now just because you accused me of doing so. That would be more than neurotic. I'm fine and please tell Dean I will call him when I get home."

"Okay, I will. I really didn't think you would join a cult. Imagine you being involved in anything like that. Okay, dear, I'll let you go get your sleep. Love you."

"I love you too Mother. Goodnight!"

Amanda was shaking her head at her mom's imagination when Lee stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. She found herself struggling to breathe while being embarrassed at the same time. He really did have nice legs but he had a really nice looking ummm, chest. Yes, a nice looking chest. Amanda ducked her gaze in hopes that Lee hadn't noticed her staring at him but he definitely had. He walked over to his bag and pulled out his pajamas and robe which he had forgotten to bring into the bathroom with him since he had been momentarily taken off guard when Amanda came out of the bathroom. He smiled at her as he crossed back to the bathroom to put them on. Amanda meanwhile crawled into bed and willed herself to fall to sleep. When Lee entered the room again, it appeared that she was sleeping so he crawled into his bed and turned off the light. He laid looking at the ceiling a long time before he fell asleep. What was it about Amanda that at one moment, frustrated the hell out of him but at the next moment made him take a second look? He just didn't understand her and doubted he ever would. Yes, it was going to be a long night.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8 - The Second Day

**Chapter 8 – The Second Day**

The next day, Amanda was awake as soon as the sun rose and looked over and saw that Lee was still sound asleep. She quietly got up and used the bathroom and then freshened up. She came back out and saw that he was still asleep so she left a note on the desk that she was going to go have some breakfast. The hotel had a continental breakfast that included pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, muffins and of course coffee. Amanda sat down after putting a little bit of everything on a plate and enjoyed the best meal of the day. There was no one else around yet so it was peaceful and she had a good view from the table where she was sitting. She had just finished eating when people began to wander in. She quickly went over and refilled her coffee cup while filling a second cup and adding just a touch of cream in it for Lee and then hurried back upstairs. Lee was still asleep when she got to the room so she began quietly saying his name.

"Lee, it is time to get up now. Lee? Lee, are you awake?"

Lee stretched and suddenly smiled and said "Not now, I'm sleeping."

Amanda rolled her eyes knowing what his dreams were obviously about. She went over to his bed and shoved him hard so he hit the floor. "OAF" Lee said as he bolted upright and his hand automatically reached to try to find his gun.

"LEE! It's me Amanda. It is time to get up."

"Amanda! Did you just shove me out of bed?"

"I did. You wouldn't wake up so I just meant to push you to waken you, but I guess I shoved you too hard. Sorry about that."

Lee raked his hand through his hair while he sat upright on the floor. "It's okay. What time is it?"

"It's nearly 7am and I thought you wanted to get started by 7 so that's why I was trying to wake you up."

"I do. Thanks. Let me go use the bathroom and get dressed and then we can get moving. I'll be right back."

Lee quickly got dressed and repacked his bag and they went down and paid the desk clerk and headed out to the Bus. Lee looked around before they got in to make sure nothing looked suspicious. Everything was in order and soon they were on their way. Lee insisted on driving to start so Amanda once again took the co-pilot seat and had the map spread out on her lap. They kept the conversation light this time and Amanda pulled the grapes out and they both feasted on them as Lee drove through the rest of Nashville and then into Arkansas. Amanda rambled quite a bit about her sons and how much fun it was to watch them play their various sport activities. Lee could tell she was a great mom and took a lot of pride in her two boys. The time flew quickly and soon they were ready for lunch. Lee asked Amanda what kind of place she wanted to stop at and she suggested a diner that they saw up ahead. They pulled into the parking lot and after securitizing the Bus, went inside to enjoy their meal. The diner had been decorated like it was from the 50's. It was really cute. There were black and white tiles on the floor, a juke box in the corner, black bar stools and red vinyl booths. The walls had pictures that would have been taken during the 50's along with a Coca - Cola clock. It all looked very authentic.

Lee and Amanda had been told to pick any seat so they picked a booth that had a window view and got comfortable. A cute, young waitress came over and told them that her name was Gigi and that she could take their order. Amanda noticed that Lee's face broke out in a smile as he checked over this young girl. She quietly kicked him under the table and he gave her a look. They quickly placed orders for burgers and salad and she left them alone.

"Amanda, that wasn't nice to kick me. You could have hit my bad leg."

"Oh, did I kick you? My foot had a cramp and I was just stretching it out."

Lee looked at her with a scolding face and then laughed "Okay, you win." as he shook his head.

They enjoyed their meal together and then headed back to the bus. Lee agreed to let Amanda drive.

Amanda climbed into the driver's seat and waited for Lee to get in. She noticed that he was limping a little more than he had been.

"Lee, how is your leg feeling?"

"I think all this riding is making it stiff. I've been feeling it more today than I did yesterday."

"Lee, did you take your pain meds?"

"Awww, Amanda, I didn't think I needed them." Amanda gave him a motherly look and he said "Okay, fine I will take them but they will make me drowsy so you will be on your own driving this afternoon."

"I'll be fine, please take one of your pills. It will make me feel better."

Lee reluctantly agreed and took the pill that Amanda was holding out to him. She then put the bus in drive and they were on their way again. It only took about 30 minutes for the pill to cause Lee to begin nodding and dowsing. Amanda wished they could have put a cot in the back of the bus but with all those computers, there really wasn't room. Lee had reclined his seat though and he seemed comfortable enough.

Her thoughts turned to her boys and wondering what they were doing and if they had had a good day. She missed them terribly when she wasn't with them. She then thought about her Mother and how much she appreciated her being there for her. If she hadn't been there to help her pick up the pieces after she divorced Joe, she wasn't sure if she could have made it. Her Mother was definitely her rock. When her dad had died, Amanda and her Mother had grown very close as they struggled to go on without him. They both needed each other and it was good they had each other to lean on.

Then her thoughts turned for a second to Dean. Dean, what was she going to do about Dean? He was a good man and he did love the boys and he did want to marry her and he likely would give her a good life. She just didn't love him. When two people really cared about each other, they liked to touch each other and be with each other and really miss each other when they are apart. She didn't have any of those feelings for Dean. He was as comfortable as that old Dorm shirt that served you well all through college and you hate to get rid of it but it looks pretty worn out. She felt awful about not having feelings for him. She kept hoping that things would change and she wasn't ready to throw it all away yet but she did feel guilty about not being truthful with him. At that moment, Lee moaned in his sleep, and Amanda looked over at him. He seemed to be sleeping so peacefully. Some of his hair had fallen down into his eyes and it took all she had not to use a hand and pull it back up where it belonged. She would never tell him of course, but he really was a sexy man. She loved when he showed his dimples. The man could charm a rattlesnake. It was too bad he wasn't her type. They were from two different worlds though. Amanda lived in the normal, real world while Lee lived in some fantasy, playboy world full of nightclubs and restaurants. She hoped one day he would find the right woman and settle down. He did so much for his country that he did deserve to be happy. Maybe someday, he would find a woman who understood him and what he did for a living.

Amanda was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she had already passed the Oklahoma border and was heading into Oklahoma City. She remembered that Lee had mentioned the next hotel stop was near there so she gently woke him up.

Lee rubbed his eyes and said "where are we?"

"Just outside of Oklahoma City. Aren't we supposed to stop somewhere near here?"

"Yes, there should be a Holiday Inn right off 140 just before you get to the city."

Lee noticed that they had made good timing and he had slept through the entire drive. He hated to admit it but it was good that Billy had suggested that Amanda go with him. It had made the trip less lonely and he definitely would not have been able to handle all this driving alone with his leg throbbing like it was.

In no time, Amanda found the hotel and pulled off. After making sure the bus was secure, they entered the hotel. The desk clerk greeted them and when he heard who they were, he began apologizing up a storm. Lee asked him to calm down and tell him what was wrong. He then told him that they messed up the reservation and only had a full suite to offer but would give it to them as a normal room. Lee glanced at Amanda and saw relief all over her face and assured the clerk that it was fine and that they appreciated the discount. After checking in, they took the elevator to the third floor and entered their suite. It was beautiful and the best part was that there were 2 bedrooms so they could sleep in separate rooms that night. Amanda couldn't believe their luck. Lee called Billy while Amanda went into the bathroom to freshen up. Billy was happy to hear that they were right on schedule and that there hadn't been any problems. Little did anyone know that trouble was right around the corner.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9 - What Did You Do?

**Chapter 9 - What Did You Do?**

Lee and Amanda then walked downstairs and asked the Desk Clerk where people liked to go for dinner and maybe some music. He suggested a place called the Dusty Tavern which was within walking distance. Keeping their cover, Amanda linked her arm with Lee's and they walked to the tavern. As they entered and their eyes become accustomed to the dim light inside, they couldn't help but both appreciate the place. It was all decorated like an old fashioned tavern complete with whiskey barrels stacked up in the corners, old round wooden tables and mahogany chairs. There was a huge mirror that had been placed the full length of the wall behind the bar and it had every kind of bottle of alcohol that you could imagine lined up in front of it. The barmaids/waitresses were all dressed as if they were working in the 1900's with huge bows in their hair and long flowing dresses. Even Amanda had to admit that they were all beautiful. Lee motioned for her to sit down at a table near the back and after he held her chair for her, he then took the seat opposite her. A few minutes later, an older lady approached their table and introduced herself as Monique. She brought them their menus along with a wine list. Lee ordered from the wine list for both of them and they asked for a few minutes to determine what they wanted for dinner. As they were looking over the menus, Amanda suddenly looked up and then quickly got up and walked across the room. Lee was baffled until he saw that she had gone to a table where a young lady was sitting by herself sobbing hysterically. Amanda had put her arm around the woman and was pulling out a tissue from her pocket. Lee sat transfixed watching Amanda do what Amanda always did best; take care of someone else. She soon took a seat opposite the woman and Lee could tell that the woman was telling her story by all her wild hand gestures. Amanda sat with a sympathetic look on her face and kept nodding. Meanwhile the waitress came back to take Lee's order and Lee had to tell her that there would be a delay as he apologized for taking up her table. He promised her that he would compensate with a nice tip and she smiled and said that was fine. Amanda spent about 20 minutes with the woman and then gave her a hug and made her way back to their table.

Amanda sat back down and apologized to Lee for leaving so quickly without saying where she was going. Lee accepted the apology and then asked her if she knew this lady.

"I have never seen her before in my life" Amanda answered. "She just looked so heartbroken that I couldn't help but feel bad for her."

"So what's her story?" Lee asked.

"Well it seems that she gave up everything to come out here with some guy she met that was just passing through. He promised her a world of happiness, lots of fun times, financial stability and to take care of her. They took her car, they used her money because he claimed his was in a bank in Texas and it turned out to be all lies. On top of that, he was a very abusive man. She showed me the bruises on her wrists and told me about others on her legs and on her chest. She is terrified of him and ran away from him. She said that she believes he is still looking for her. She has been hiding out here while trying to figure out a way to go home. Her family lives in Richmond, VA. She gave all her money to this man and when she ran, she left behind the car. She doesn't know what to do."

"Oh Amanda, you didn't promise her anything did you? It sounds like a con to me. If this was real, why wouldn't she just go to the cops?"

"Lee, it is not a con. Those were real tears. She is really upset. I didn't promise her anything. I did tell her that I would talk to you and see if we could help her at all. She is afraid of going to the Police because apparently, he is in law enforcement and she knows they won't believe her."

"The answer is no"

"I didn't ask a question yet."

"Amanda, no matter what the question is, the answer is still no."

Amanda stared at him. "Now Lee, that young woman needs our help. We have to do something. Isn't there anything we can do to help her?"

"Amanda, we are driving a classified Government vehicle that is full of weaponry, just what do you think we can do to help her?"

"I don't know but it seems like there should be something."

"Well there isn't!"

By this time the waitress noticed Amanda was back and came over to get their order. They both ordered a salad and a burger and then continued to silently glare at each other.

"Well I happen to like Janet and I'm going to help her even if you don't help me help her because she deserves to be helped. All of us at one time or another can get into this kind of trouble and need a helping hand and it is our duty as Americans and human beings to help each other out."

"Amanda, even if I thought we should help her, what could we do? We can't exactly let her tag along with us. I don't have the money to put her back on a bus. There really isn't anything we can do."

Amanda sighed and said "I guess you are right but I don't like just leaving her here. She has nowhere to go."

"Why can't she just call her family and have them wire her the money or obtain airplane tickets for her to return home then?"

"I asked her that and she said that her family was all very poor and couldn't do that."

Lee said under his breath, "Women, how do I always get involved with women."

"I don't want you to get involve with her Lee. I just want to find a way for her to get home."

Their food arrived and they spent the next 20 minutes eating while Amanda thought about how she could help Janet. During that time, Janet left the table and disappeared. When Amanda went to ask her to come spend the night in their hotel room, she found her gone. Lee was relieved and said that maybe she had found a solution on her own. Amanda wasn't convinced and went outside and looked around. After admitting defeat, they retired to their suite and then went to their individual rooms. It was much easier to deal with the closeness of each other since they were in separate rooms and soon they both fell asleep.

The next morning, Amanda awoke as usual before Lee and again left him to go eat breakfast. Before she left the room, she quietly borrowed his security pass for the Vigilante. Since all of the fruit that she had brought had been eaten, she decided to go buy some fresh fruit and other supplies at the gas station next to the hotel. The Gas station attendant was able to put everything in one bag so Amanda carried the bag in one hand while dragging a case of water with her other hand. When she arrived at the Vigilante, she left the water outside while she stored away the food. When she went out to retrieve the case, it was not there. Amanda couldn't figure out where it could have gone as it was much too heavy to blow away. She circled the RV looking for it and couldn't find it. As she was turning to go back to the door of the RV, she noticed the case off in a distance beside of a parked car. There was no one to be seen and Amanda could not figure out what it was doing there. She could tell by the disturbance of the sand in the parking lot that someone had dragged the case over there. She grabbed it and dragged it back and then put it inside. Surely some teenager must have decided to play a prank on her. At least she had found it. She added some ice to her picnic basket and stored some single bottles in the basket so they would be cool for drinking during the ride. Then after a quick look around to make sure she wasn't leaving any trash, she turned around and securitized the Bus and headed back to the Suite to enjoy her breakfast. Afterward, she went upstairs to wake Lee. She had remembered to once again grab a cup of coffee for him.

Meanwhile, back in the bus, Amanda hadn't noticed the pair of eyes that had watched her from a hidden compartment in the back of the bus as she finished cleaning up and left.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10 - Picking Up a Tail

**Chapter 10 - Picking Up a Tail**

Lee and Amanda checked out of the hotel and walked across the parking lot to the RV. Amanda noticed that Lee was limping a lot again. When she questioned him about it, he claimed that he just slept on his leg wrong but he did relent and agreed to let her drive. He made himself comfortable in the co-pilot chair and unfolded the map so he could see their route. As Amanda started out, they both realized what a beautiful day it was. The weather was very comfortable and the sky was full of beautiful clouds. The clouds made Amanda think of Dean and her thoughts again turned to where she wanted this relationship to go. Lee interrupted those thoughts by telling her that they would be in Amarillo, TX in time to have lunch there. He had always heard that Texas had the best steaks and he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into one. Amanda laughed and said that it helped that the Government would be picking up the tab. Lee gave her a scorning type look and then laughed with her. They spent the morning drive talking about different things while trying to keep the conversation light between them.

Amanda said "I haven't gone skiing in years but I used to love to go. Once the boys were born, I just never seemed to have the time. I love to camp and fish of course. I try to volunteer whenever the Boy Scouts are going on one of their hiking/camping trips because I do love going. I love that the boys get to experience all the beauty of nature and learn to appreciate it. What about you Lee?"

"I don't know. I never have much time for fun. I do love skiing and have skied in the Alps. I also don't mind running as it is good exercise. I don't think I have ever gone camping so I don't know if I would like it or not."

"Your parents never took you camping?"

"Amanda, that's a subject that I'm not ready to talk with you about, okay?"

Amanda noticed that he had his jaw set like he did when he is determined to have the last word so she dropped it for now and quickly changed the subject.

"How difficult do you think it is going to be to blow up this town that we are going to?"

"I'm not sure. It is supposed to look like a real town though so I'm sure there will be your standard buildings like the Post Office, a bank, a grocery store, Hardware store, etc. I don't think it will take too long to finish our mission and then you can fly home. Is that why you were wondering?"

"That's part of it. I also can't help but wonder what happened to Janet and I might rent a car and come back this way and see if I can find her. I could always drive us back instead of flying back myself."

Lee rolled his eyes and shook his head. That was Amanda, always worried about others instead of worrying about herself. At that moment, he happened to look in his rearview mirror and noticed a blue sedan traveling fairly close to the Bus. As they continued down the road, Lee continued to watch and noticed that the car was glued to them.

"Amanda, do me a favor and take the next exit" Lee said.

"Is there a problem?"

"There might be. I think we are being tailed."

"Is it the Agency?"

"No, Billy would have told me last night when I checked in. The fake bus had headed out just before we did and he felt sure this one was safe. That is why he sent the guards with the other one so that it would look legit and make this one look like it was the fake one."

"Who do you think it is then?"

"I'm not sure Amanda. Just keep driving."

"Okay, I am. I am." Amanda took the next exit off and took a right off the exit. The sedan followed right behind. Lee then instructed Amanda to take several turns and each time the car continued to follow them. He finally directed her back on the highway because it was likely safer than being in these small towns. They were definitely being tailed. Lee had Amanda continue driving until they got to Amarillo and then they picked a steakhouse and pulled off in the parking lot. Lee told Amanda to get out and call Billy while he kept an eye on the Bus. Amanda got out and began walking across the parking lot. Lee noticed that the man in the Sedan stayed in the car.

Amanda entered the restaurant and allowed her eyes to adjust to the dim lights. She then spotted a payphone in corner and went over to it. She called collect and told the agency switchboard who she was and that it was important that she speak to Billy immediately. They soon patched her to Billy's office and she told him about where they were and about the blue Sedan. Billy told her to tell Lee to sit tight and he would alert the Police Department.

Meanwhile, Lee sat in the bus waiting to see what this guy was going to do. He didn't have long to wait as the guy ambled up and knocked on the door. Lee pulled out his gun and asked "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk. You have something of mine and I want it back."

"Look Pal, I don't know who you are but I don't have anything of yours. Now why don't you do us both a favor and get back in your car and drive away?"

"Oh I can't do that until I get her back."

"Her? Amanda? Is this Dean?"

"Huh? No, I'm talking about Janet."

Lee was even more confused than before. "Janet? I don't know anyone named Janet."

"Oh stop lying. I saw your wife with her in the restaurant last night. I'm sure she was telling you her sob stories but trust me, she isn't worth getting killed over. Now let me in and let me collect my trash."

"Pal, the only trash I see is you. Now please get away from this RV and go about your business."

At that moment, a gun went off several times outside and Lee could tell that he was trying to get the door open by shooting at it. He could only hope that Amanda noticed what was going on and stayed inside the Restaurant. It was not to be though since at that moment, she came back outside. The RV had been parked so Amanda couldn't see the man standing by the door until it was too late and found herself with the man's arm wrapped around her neck and gun pointed at her head.

"Okay Mister, you have something of mine and now I have something of yours."

Lee's heart sank as he realized that this bad man had just grabbed Amanda. "What do you want? I don't know any Janet."

Amanda heard the name Janet and said "Are you Roy?"

"Well yes I am. Did Janet tell you all about her loving boyfriend? Well it appears that she got your soft heart to let her hitch a ride with you. That was very sweet but now I want her back."

"Roy, she's not with us. I haven't seen her since we saw each other in the Restaurant last night."

"Well I know for a fact she is on this bus." Roy raised his voice so that Lee could hear him. "You better open this door if you expect to see your wife alive again."

Lee realized that he had no choice and unlocked the door and let Roy in. As he pushed Amanda ahead of him so he could make sure Lee didn't try to shoot him, he noticed right away all the computer equipment in the RV.

"Wow, would you look at this. This is one of those Government vehicles isn't it? What does it do?"

No one answered him so he asked again and said that the lady would pay if he didn't get an answer.

Amanda said "This is my boyfriend's vehicle. He is part of the weather bureau and this is an experimentation vehicle for predicting the weather."

"Boyfriend? Isn't he your husband?"

Amanda gulped when she realized that their cover was of man and wife. Lee tried to distract him by acting angry and saying "Wait a minute; that is your boyfriend? I thought he was just an old school chum? Are you cheating on me?"

"Nice try Hot Shot," Roy said to Lee. "Why don't you have a seat over there and be quiet." Roy pointed to the passenger seat.

Lee sat down and tried to figure out a way out of this mess. If he could delay long enough, Billy might be able to get them help. Hopefully Amanda was able to contact him. A few moments later, 2 squad cars pulled up and blocked the bus in. Roy looked out and saw that he was going to end up with company and said "Oh, look, the little lady called the cops on me huh?"

Amanda said "Yes I did so you better turn yourself in."

Roy looked at her and grabbed her again around the neck while pointing the gun at her and then opened the front door so that the cops could see that he had her hostage. "Now officers, I'm sure you can see that there seems to be a misunderstanding. Me and the Pretty Lady are going to go for a nice drive and you are going to let us unless you want to see some brains get splattered all over this RV."

This was more than they expected so they quickly got back into their vehicles and moved them so that the RV could leave. The Sargent got on the radio and alerted the Agency what they had just witnessed. Billy was immediately tracked down and told the Sargent to let them go but to follow them at a safe distance. In the meantime, he would send a team out from the Arizona office to try to stop them.

Amanda looked at Roy and said "Janet told me you were a law enforcement officer. Is this the way you behave in your job?"

Roy laughed and said "I also told her that I had a huge bank account, a great paying job and would take care of her for life. She was such an easy target. I was just going to steal her blind and leave her but she was so pretty that I thought maybe we could have some fun together, if you know what I mean. I didn't expect her to run away from me. It's okay because I have you now."

As Roy pushed Amanda into the driver's seat and told her to start the RV moving; Lee quietly grumbled "So much for my Texas steak."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11 - The Tag Along

**Chapter 11 - The Tag Along**

Amanda had been driving for about 30 minutes away from their destination. In fact, they appeared to be headed back to Oklahoma City. It gave Lee some time to look Roy over. He appeared to be in his late 20's. He had a hard look about him including a scar that ran from his right ear down to his cheek bone. He had a receding hair line with black hair and piercing blue eyes. He stood about 5' 5" and weighed around 150 pounds. It looked like he was used to getting his own way and when he didn't, he would fight for it. Lee believed now that Janet had been abused by Roy and he did feel bad that he hadn't believed Amanda's instincts more and tried to help Janet out. In the meantime, this nut had taken hostage a very valuable classified Government vehicle. Lee needed to stop him but he needed to do it without getting Amanda hurt. Currently that was impossible since Roy had the gun against the back of Amanda's head as she was driving. Lee took in account how Amanda was doing. She looked terrified but she was being so brave and just driving. He knew she was waiting for him to save the day but he wasn't sure how he was going to do that at the moment. During the whole 4 hour drive back to Oklahoma City, Roy never relaxed once. Soon, they were pulling back into the parking lot of the hotel they had stayed at the night before. Roy explained that he needed to find Janet and they were going to help him by being the bait. He then found some rope and tied Lee to the passenger seat and explained that he was going to take a walk with Amanda and let Janet see that he had her. He was hoping that things would go peacefully but he would kill Amanda if anyone tried to interfere with what he was doing. He and Amanda then left the RV, leaving Lee alone. At least that is what he thought.

About 5 minutes after they were gone, Lee heard a creaking noise in the back of the RV and looked around just in time to see a hidden panel in the back get lifted and Janet came crawling out. Her face was stained in tears and she was visibly shaking.

"How did you get in here? What are you doing in here?" Lee asked.

"I snuck in while Amanda was restocking the food and water supplies this morning. I thought if I could hitch a ride to where ever you were going, then maybe Amanda would figure out a way to get me home afterward. After I came in, I saw all the computers but it was too late to do anything else because I could hear Amanda coming back with the water I hid. I just happened to push against that panel just right and it swung up revealing a hidden cavity for a person to hide in. I honestly didn't think anyone would mind. I just needed to try to get away from him. The man is a monster and now he has Amanda and it is all my fault."

Lee knew he should be angry with her but he also knew that if he yelled at her, he wouldn't be able to ask her for help because she would likely run off. He told her that he was glad she was okay but that they needed to figure out a way out of this. He had her loosen the ropes so that it would be easier for him to get out of them. Then he told her that she really needed to stay hidden in the panel until it was safe. He got the feeling that if Roy knew she was there, he would kill her and probably kill all 3 of them to make sure there weren't any witnesses. She wiped her tears and asked him if she could help at all. He told her to just keep listening in case he needed her. She agreed and hurried back into the secret hiding place just as Roy reentered the RV with Amanda.

"Well it seems that my girl hasn't been seen since early this morning. She is such a hot mess that everyone knows who I'm talking about as soon as I begin describing her. She is such a loser."

"What do you want her for then?" Lee Challenged.

"Well if you must know hot shot, I don't like that she ran away from me. No one runs away from Roy Stebbs. I reserve the right to throw her away when I was done with her but she took that away from me and rejected me. No girl does that and she will pay dearly for it." Roy's evil grin on his face terrified Amanda. He truly was not a nice man and she felt bad that Janet ever got involved with him.

Roy went into the back of the RV and started checking out the computer system. He saw the TV screen and video and hit play. The Government official came on explaining what the Vigilante was for and what it could do and Roy's eyes got as big as half dollars and he let out a shriek and then said "Oh Roy, you hit pay dirt. This thing has got to be worth millions and even if I can't get a buyer, I can have fun terrorizing some of my enemies. This is truly my lucky day!"

Amanda exchanged a nervous look with Lee. She could tell they were both thinking the same thing; this man needed to be stopped at all costs.

Roy began pacing and talking to himself. "Where do I want to go? Should I keep looking for Janet so I can make her come with me or do I leave her here because this vehicle is more worth my time? I'm sure she would make a great slave for me if nothing more. What do I do?"

Amanda said "You could let us go."

Roy stopped pacing and said "Shut up. No one asked you lady. Do you understand? Just shut up if you don't want to die."

Lee gritted his teeth and used all his control not to slip out of the ropes and try to jump Roy. He knew it was too soon and he would be at a disadvantage since Roy still had a gun. Instead he said "Come on, She was just making a suggestion. What are you going to do with us? Don't you think someone is going to try to stop you?"

"Oh, they can try but this thing is fully loaded. I can blow up a whole town with this thing. I think I just might too for the fun of it."

Amanda looked scared and said "But you wouldn't do that? You would hurt a lot of innocent people doing that. You wouldn't want to do that would you?"

"Why not? What has anyone ever done for me?" Roy asked.

Amanda's motherly instincts came out and said "Surely there have been some kind people in your life. Imagine if one of them got killed just because they were in the way. Would that be fair?"

Roy sneered "Nothing in this life is fair lady. Look, I don't want to hurt anyone. I'll be perfectly happy just selling this thing. Do you think the Russians will give me more than the US?"

Lee couldn't control his facial expression "You wouldn't sell this to the enemy? Do you hate your country that much?"

"No, you are right, I will just set a price and the US will have to pay it or else I will tell them that I'm selling it to the Russians. Okay...this day has been exhausting. I need to get some sleep. I think all 3 of us will get cozy right out here tonight."

Motioning Amanda with his gun, he directed her to untie Lee and then had the two of them go to the back end of the RV and sit down back to back. He produced two pairs of handcuffs and cuffed their hands together and then wrapped the rope around their chests and then finally tied their feet together.

"Sorry I can't make you any more comfortable than that but I get the comfortable chair up front and I don't want you two to fight over the other one. I don't want to hear any talking over here and you best get some rest because tomorrow will be a busy day."

Lee had no intentions on letting this go on for another day.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12 - Returning to Normal

**Chapter 12 - Returning to Normal**

Since Roy had been searching so long for Janet, he really was exhausted. He put his gun on his lap while his hand still held it, leaned back and in no time was snoring.

Lee, who was facing the hidden panel, gently tapped it with his foot and a few seconds later Janet emerged. Amanda had to swallow the scream that wanted to come out when the panel started to move but when she saw it was Janet, she was happy. Janet quickly untied the main ropes and Lee asked her to remove his lock pick from the collar of his shirt. In no time, he had both of them free. He whispered in Amanda's ear what he wanted her to do and then he began inching towards the front of the Bus. He turned around when he was just inches from Roy and nodded to Amanda who took the John Paul Jones Statue and smashed it to the floor. Roy jumped up when he heard the crash and was immediately smashed in the face by Lee's fist. Roy fell to the floor apparently knocked out but when Lee went to grab him, he aimed his gun at him.

"I have had it with you. I thought you were valuable to keep alive but I see now, you are just a pain in my butt. It is time for you to go away." Roy proceeded to shoot Lee when Janet stepped out and said "Roy, don't do it."

Roy whipped around towards the voice which gave Lee time to hit the hand that was holding the gun. The gun went flying and soon Roy and Lee were in complete battle with each other. Amanda couldn't figure out anyway to help out so she and Janet just stayed out of the way. A few minutes later, Lee was really able to knock Roy out and he fell to the floor of the RV. Lee grabbed a pair of the handcuffs and cuffed Roy's hands behind his back. Amanda meanwhile poked her head out and motioned for the police officers who had held back waiting to come inside. They quickly grabbed Roy and hauled him out to the squad car.

Amanda asked to talk to the other officer privately. She told him all about what Janet had told her and how she was a witness to everything and could stay behind and help them build their case against him if they would then arrange her safe passage home. The Officer smiled and said he was sure he could do that.

When Amanda went back inside the Bus, Janet met her and gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you for everything that you have done. I can never repay you." She said.

Amanda looked confused and said "I didn't do anything. Well except if you cooperate with the police, they will protect you and then get you home safely. And yes, you just repaid both Lee and I. Thank you my friend."

"That's what I mean; you tried to help me more than I could help myself. I will never be able to thank you enough Amanda."

"You don't have to. Go home, be happy and don't ever think you need to put up with any kind of abuse from a man. Love yourself; that is all that matters." Amanda smiled and hugged Janet again. Janet then went to Lee and gave him a hug also.

"It was so nice to meet you Lee. Thanks for helping me out."

"Well you helped us out too. If you hadn't freed us, we would never have had a chance with Roy. I agree with Amanda; we all helped each other. Take care of yourself."

"I will. You take care of Amanda." Janet winked at Lee. Lee looked surprised at her comments and said "I do the best I can."

Janet then went out to meet the officer that would take her to the police station for debriefing.

Lee looked at Amanda and said "As much as I would love for us to call it a day, we are now way behind. Why don't I go call Billy, you can call your Mom and we'll at least get back to Amarillo and have a late steak dinner before we call it a day. Would that be okay?"

"That Sounds good to me."

Billy was relieved to hear that the Vigilante was back under their control and had not been damaged or used against innocent people. Lee told him the plan to drive to Amarillo and that they would have to drive a little longer tomorrow but they should still be on schedule the following day to hit the town in the early afternoon. Billy told Lee to be careful and that he hoped to hear good news when they checked in tomorrow.

Amanda called her Mother and got to talk to her sons. They were both excited to hear from her and both tried to talk at once into the phone so it was hard for her to understand what either of them were telling her but they sounded happy. Dotty got on the phone and asked her if all was still on schedule and she assured her that it was.

Both exited the Hotel lobby at the same time and made their way back to the bus. Lee decided that he would drive back to Amarillo and they both slipped back into an easy conversation about Janet and Roy. The 4 hours seemed to fly by and soon they pulled into that same Steakhouse they had left just hours ago. They both immensely enjoyed their steaks with loaded baked potato and a nice glass of red wine.

There was a hotel right next door so they checked in and found that they could get a suite again so they did. It sure made it easier so there was no awkwardness between them. They were both exhausted from the day's events so there was little talking between them and it took no time for them both to fall into their hotel beds and fall asleep. They were both ready for this trip to be over with.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13 - Making Plans

**Chapter 13 - Making Plans**

Amanda and Lee both woke up around the same time the following morning. Lee asked Amanda to wait for him and he would keep her company during her breakfast and enjoy his cup of coffee. When they checked out, the desk clerk advised them not to eat the hotel breakfast. He told them of a really nice little diner that was just a couple minutes walk away. Amanda didn't think they should bother but Lee reminded her that it was the most important meal of the day and he wanted her to be happy. He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her out the door. They then locked arms and began walking next to the river which led to the diner. There were a lot of people enjoying this same walk and they knew they needed to keep up their cover. When they arrived at the diner, they found it be very cozy and very busy but they were able to find a booth and sat down. Amanda ordered pancakes, home fries and scrambled eggs along with a glass of milk and a cup of coffee. Lee just had coffee. Amanda expressed that she hoped that Janet was doing okay and Lee said that they could check on her through Billy later.

After Amanda finished eating, Lee paid the check and they walked arm and arm back to the Bus. Seeing no sign of foul play, they went inside. Lee said "Amanda, do you mind if I drive for awhile? My leg feels pretty good. I think the pain is finally subsiding."

"I don't mind Lee. It will be nice to just sit back and look at the scenery."

As they started out their journey, Lee couldn't help but think about the past month with Amanda.

"Amanda, can I ask you something?"

"What Lee?"

"Why did you accept the package? I mean, I'm glad you did but you were in your nightgown and this strange man shoves this package in your hands and tells you to get on the train. What if it had been a bomb?"

Amanda smiled and said "If you recall, I did try to avoid doing it but some man with these demanding hazel eyes didn't exactly take no for an answer."

"Do you regret it? You constantly have to lie to your Mother and you never know when you will be called on for an assignment. You can bow out anytime Amanda."

"I don't want to Lee. I've never been a quitter and I won't start now. What about you? Don't you ever get scared? Do you ever wonder if you should be in this crazy business?"

"I do get scared but not for myself. I get scared when other people are involved. Having lost my partner, I need to protect those around me. I get scared when I can't. As for being in this crazy business, I have no where else to be."

Amanda nodded thoughtfully and said "You are a great agent, Lee. You are where you belong for sure."

Then they turned their talk to lighter subjects mostly about Phillip and Jamie. Lee couldn't help but smile as she told the story about Phillip hitting the baseball through Old Man Tucker's window and trying to pretend it was the Ferguson's dog that did it. He was only about 6 years old at the time. Lee couldn't help but think about his own misadventures when he was that age. If only his parents hadn't died, but life with the Colonel had made it so he didn't have much of a childhood after he went to live with him. He wasn't ready to share any of that with Amanda though so he just smiled and listened to her stories. He couldn't help but wonder what a child he created would be like. Did he want kids? Heck, what did he know about kids? He hadn't been around any since he was a kid himself. He didn't know if he would even know what to do with one. What if his son talked back to him? What if he wouldn't listen to him and tried to run away? How does one handle all of that? Wait...why was he thinking about having kids? It isn't like that was going to happen anytime in the future. You should have a wife before you have kids and he sure didn't need one of those. Nope, Lee Stetson liked being a loner and he wasn't ready to change any of that.

At some point, Amanda realized that he was no longer listening to her and became quiet. She figured that she had rambled so much that he had tuned her out. She would have been surprised to read his real thoughts.

Lee suddenly interrupted his own thoughts and asked Amanda if she was getting hungry. They had been traveling nearly 5 hours and were coming up on Albuquerque so it seemed like a good spot to stop. Amanda agreed and they began discussing what kind of place they should stop at.

Lee said "I have an idea Amanda. Did you bring any kind of dress or nice clothes to go out in?"

"Lee, I think going out for a formal lunch might be a bit much."

Lee smiled and said "That would be interesting but not what I had in mind. Did you bring any kind of dress up clothes? I brought a suit just in case."

"As a matter of fact, I did bring a nice gown. If you recall, I was not warned to dress up when we went out that first time and I was hideously under dressed so I will never make that mistake again."

"Well here's my idea. We could stop at a sub shop, grab some subs that we can take with us and eat as we go."

"Oh, so now I don't even get to take a break and eat?"

"Amanda! Let me finish. If we drive right through, we should be able to hit Phoenix, AZ by 6pm tonight. After checking into the hotel, refreshing ourselves with a shower, we get dressed up and I'll take you out for a nice dinner and then we pick a family type club and we'll go dancing to celebrate making it this far. What do you say? Do you want to do it?"

"So I give up my lunch?"

"Yes."

"And we arrive an hour earlier?"

"yes."

"As a reward you will take me out to have a formal meal?"

"Yes, your choice of restaurants there."

"And then we go dancing afterward?"

"yes."

"Lee, that sounds like fun except you know that you will be checking out every female in the place and leave me all alone."

"I promise I won't do that."

"Why do you want to take me out dancing?"

"Why not? Our dance the last time got cut short when you found out I was a spy and reacted. We've been cooped up in this bus for 4 days now and haven't killed each other. Don't you think we deserve a night on the town?"

Amanda was looking at Lee trying to read what he was thinking. He seemed genuine enough but she wasn't his type and she usually didn't enjoy clubs.

"The great thing is that we can leave tomorrow at 8am and still make it to the Proving Ground by noon. Since we told them to plan on 2pm, it will give us time to relax before we have to go into action. What do you say Amanda. Let's go have some fun."

Amanda smiled and said "You promise you won't leave me and go off dancing with a bunch of other girls?"

"I promise" Lee answered.

"Okay, I guess it sounds fun. Let's do it."

"yeah" Said Lee.

They soon found a sub shop and ordered steak and cheese subs to go. After a short bathroom break, they were back on the road. Lee agreed to keep driving since Amanda would be the driver tomorrow and so they prepared to drive the final 6 hours straight through to Phoenix.

Amanda realized that she had never gone through so many states before and wished that the boys could have been with her. They were a little too young to really appreciate such a trip though and likely would have bickered the whole way. Before she knew it, she had dozed off thinking about the next time she traveled some place exciting, she really wanted to take the boys. Lee looked over and saw that she had fallen asleep.

In some ways, he wondered what he was thinking promising Amanda a night out and agreeing not to try to pick up any other woman. He was sure that he could have found a bed warmer in this city. Since Amanda had to share the room with him though, it would have been awkward. He realized that this was not a normal thing for her to do and deep down; he wanted to show her that it could be fun going out to a nightclub now and then. It shouldn't be too hard to just go out and enjoy the evening because Amanda was just a housewife. She wasn't anything like the women he usually brought to these clubs. He wondered if her gown had come off a Salvation Army rack. It was just as well, he didn't need any distractions as this mission was finally ending. This was just a nice gesture to thank her for helping him drive the thing there.

The miles flew by as Lee thought about all of this and before he knew it, the sign for Phoenix loomed in front of him. He looked at his watch and discovered that he predicted right as it was just after 5pm and it would take them another 20 minutes to reach the hotel.

"Amanda? Wake up Amanda. We are almost there."

"NOT NOW MOTHER!"

Lee smiled and nudged her arm with his hand. "Hey sleepyhead. I'm not your mother. Wake up."

"Jamie just 5 more minutes."

"Amanda King there is a strange man in your bedroom and I think he is naked."

Amanda's head shot right up and her face blushed. "What? Where?"

"Made you look." Lee laughed. "Wow, and they say I'm hard to wake up. You aren't that easy either."

Amanda yawned and asked if they were there just as Lee pulled into the Hotel Parking lot.

"Yeah" Lee said. "Let's go check in. I'm ready to have some fun."

Amanda looked at Lee and wondered if that statement would come back to haunt them."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14 - Phoenix

**A/N –** Sorry everyone who read this during the weekend. I really thought I would have time to post the rest on Sunday night but I had a really long, busy weekend and fell asleep very early. The good news is that there are only two chapters left after this one. Hope it was worth the wait. Thanks to all the people who are reading my story. I hope you are enjoying it.

 **Chapter 14 - Phoenix**

They made sure the bus was secured and then made their way to the front lobby. The front desk clerk appeared to be a teenage boy who had blasting headphones on his ears. After trying to get his attention, Lee finally smacked him on the arm.

"What did you do that for?" He said as he took off his headphones.

"Are you working here?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Look Pal, me and my wife would like a room. Do you have any?"

"Geeze, why didn't you just say so instead of hitting me?" The kid said as he was rubbing his arm.

"Well a room?"

"Look the only room we have left is the Honeymoon suite. Will that work?"

Amanda said "Lee, why don't we try a different hotel?" Lee noticed that she was blushing.

"Won't do you no good" The kid said as he snapped his gum he was chewing.

"Any good" Amanda corrected him.

"Huh?"

"You said no good. Two negatives make a positive. It won't do us any good."

The kid leaned over to Lee and said softly "Does she always do that?"

Lee smiled and said "She is a mother, so yes she does. Anyway, why won't it do us any good?"

"There is a big convention going on right now. All the world's Video game developers have come out to share new ideas so they can create some super game system. I don't know why we need anything else, we already have Atari and Coleco, and they just released Sega. What more do we need?"

"Great" Amanda mumbled under her breath.

Lee looked at her with a bit of smirk and said "Well dear, I guess we get to celebrate our Honeymoon again."

Amanda shot back "I hope it is better than the first one we had."

The kid watched this exchange with a smile and asked if they wanted the room. They agreed to take it.

As they entered the beautiful Suite, Lee said "It won't be so bad. We have done well up until now with sleeping arrangements. I'm sure we can handle one night in the same bed."

Amanda glared at him. Lee said "Or maybe not. Anyway, can we stick with the original plan and go have dinner and then go dancing?"

Amanda agreed so they could get out of this room which was not nearly big enough.

Amanda took her shower first and then gave the bathroom over to Lee while she dressed in the main room. She unpacked her red gown and put it on and then pinned her hair up so that only a few tendrils fell down in the back. She put on her red pumps and sat waiting for Lee to finish. It didn't take him long and he came out already dressed in his blue suit. Looking at him, Amanda found that it was hard to breath. He truly was a very handsome man and he smiled at her when he emerged from the bathroom and she could see his dimples. Why did he have to look so good? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea going out with him tonight. She noticed that he shook his head and wondered if he was reading her thoughts and agreeing with her.

Meanwhile, Lee came out of the bathroom and his eyes locked with Amanda's. He couldn't help but notice the beautiful red gown she was wearing that showed just enough of her breast line to make a man take notice but kept everything modestly covered. The gown fit her slender body perfectly and showed all her curves. It was good that she didn't get dressed up like this more often. If this was one of the women that he date, he would go sweep her hair tendrils back and kiss her neck. Lee shook his head to get himself out of those thoughts before it led to something he would regret.

"You look nice." He said. She thanked him and said that he looked nice also.

"Shall we?" As Lee offered his arm to her. She gratefully took it and they walked to the elevator. As the elevator opened up, an older couple exited and they heard the woman say "Henry, what a beautiful couple they are. I'll bet they will have lovely children together." Lee noticed that Amanda was blushing again.

Amanda quickly decided that they should go to the steakhouse that the front desk recommended. She knew that it was one of Lee's favorite things to eat and she wanted him to be happy. The restaurant was as nice as they were told. The Waitress took care of their every need, the steak was juicy and melted in their mouths and the wine that Lee picked out went perfectly with the meal. They kept the conversation light during dinner, mostly talking about the big day tomorrow.

After dinner, they walked for 3 Blocks to a Night Club called Club Paradise. Amanda had rolled her eyes when the desk clerk had recommended it but he had assured her that it was a nice, reputable club. Lee paid the cover charge for them to get in and then he led Amanda to a quiet table near the back. He held her chair while she sat down and then sat opposite her. Amanda was definitely out of her league. There was a DJ who seemed to be playing 70's and 80's music while the place was huge and was mostly a dance floor. Amanda leaned over so that Lee could hear her above the noise and said "Now, you have to keep your promise and not take off on me I don't want to spend the night sitting by myself."

"A-M-A-N-D-A! I promised you that I would stay with you, right? I'm not here to spend time with a woman tonight."

Amanda looked at him and said "What does that make me?"

"Amanda! You know what I mean. I'm here with you. Now I'm just going to go up to the bar and get us a couple of beers. I'll be right back, I promise."

Lee began making his way through the crowd to the bar while the seat he vacated suddenly got filled by a huge man.

"Hi little Lady. Name is Tommy and I see that you are all alone." Amanda began to talk and he cut her off. "Well I said to myself, Tom, oh my friends call me Tom, Tom, You have to go keep that pretty little lady company. She looks so sad all by herself there. So Little lady, let's you and I go do some dancing and then afterward, I can show you my full moon."

At that moment, Lee came back with the drinks and saw that Amanda had already picked up some guy.

"Hi Dear, I have our drinks. Oh, who is your friend? I don't think we have met, I'm her husband."

Tommy stood up and towered over Lee. "Dude, the lady didn't tell me she was married. I was just minding my own business and she came on to me. You should keep her on a better rope." Tommy then slipped back into the crowd.

Amanda's face was deep red. Lee teased "You were worried about me picking a woman up, maybe I should have been worried about you picking up a man."

"That's not funny, Lee!"

Lee offered Amanda a beer while taking a sip of his own. "So, is this place okay? It seems to be playing some good music."

"Yes, Lee. It seems fine. It just isn't what I normally would be doing."

"It's good to get out of your comfort zone now and then. You keep saying I should experience what normal people do, well you should experience what people like me do."

"Lee, can we dance?"

"Sure"

As they headed onto the dance floor, the DJ began playing "Physical" by Olivia Newton John. The long drive had made it so they both had felt cooped up so it was good to move to the music and both began enjoying the dance together. They weren't touching at all since their hands and feet were both moving to the beat but they shared the same dance floor space. The song was truly a physical type song and they both built up a little bit of a sweat from their dancing. As the song ended, Amanda started to walk back to their table but Lee motioned for her to do one more dance. The DJ began playing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler. Amanda moved into Lee's arms and they began slow dancing to it. Lee couldn't help but notice how nice Amanda smelled and found himself enjoying their dance. They moved together like they had been dancing together for years. They were both good dancers and he strangely found himself really enjoying holding her so close. He liked how she pressed her face to his chest and melted into his arms while swaying to the music with him. Meanwhile, Amanda had been ready to finish their dance and return to their seat when "Physical" had ended and it was only at Lee's insistence that she had stayed on the dance floor. When she realized that it was going to be a slow song, she had more second thoughts but it was too late so she moved into Lee's arms. Their bodies fit together as if they were made for each other and soon she found herself pressed up against his chest. She could hear his heart beating; or was it her own? Either way, she found her senses overwhelmed with being so close to him. He frustrated her on so many levels but there was just something about him that caused her to have new feelings that she wasn't sure she had ever experienced before. She didn't understand them and continued to fight against them. After all, she had a boyfriend and she had to consider Dean's feelings in all of this. But for this one moment in time, she allowed herself to relax against him and found that their dance steps matched each other's perfectly. Anyone watching them would never guess that they weren't husband and wife since they both looked so contented as they danced.

Too soon, the song ended and Amanda had to force herself out of Lee's arms. Lee led her back to their table and they both began drinking their beers. There was a little bit of awkwardness between them as they both had enjoyed the dance a little more than they felt they should have. Lee told Amanda that he needed to use the restroom and left her. A few seconds later, a young man who appeared to be his 20's sat down and said "Don't I know you? Yes, I'm sure I do. Didn't you star in that dishwashing commercial?"

Amanda smiled and said "No, you have mistaken me for someone else."

"Are you sure? You look so glamorous that you must be on TV."

"No, I'm not."

Lee returned to find another man in his chair and grabbed him by the shirt collar and said "Pal, get lost and stop hitting on my wife."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know she was married. She didn't tell me" As he ran to the other side of the room.

Lee sat back down and said "Amanda, now when I promised you that I wouldn't look for other women to pick up, I didn't know that I should ask a similar promise from you." He then smiled and his dimples were clearly displayed which made Amanda's heart beat a little faster but she quickly recovered and said "Lee, I can't help it. I don't do anything, they just come over here."

Lee gave Amanda a scolding look and said "Well maybe so, but for just a housewife, you certainly know how to pick up men."

"LEE!"

Lee laughed and said "Do you want another beer?"

"Sure, that would be great. Thanks." Lee once again fought through the crowd to the bar to get them both another beer. A man took his seat and said. "Hi I'm Artie and I couldn't help but notice that you were all alone. Do you want to dance?"

Amanda looked at him and said "Well my husband just went to get me another drink and he doesn't like me dancing with other men. If you want to stick around, we could ask him but he is sort of the jealous type."

The man quickly got up and left just as Lee was heading back to the table. He couldn't help but shake his head and laugh as he sat down. "Amanda King, you are definitely something." She smiled back at him.

The awkwardness had worked itself out and they found that it was nice to just sit and listen to the music together. Soon they had both had several beers and were feeling pretty relaxed. They enjoyed a few more dances together and at midnight decided to head back to their hotel room. Amanda had totally forgotten about the sleeping dilemma until they were in the elevator. When they entered the room, her modesty appeared again and she questioned how this would all work out. Lee said "Look Amanda, it is a King size bed. We can both easily fit in it and have plenty of empty space between us. I'll even take the extra blanket and roll it up and place it in the middle of the bed to give you a barrier."

Normally Amanda would never agree to this but the beer was having an effect on her and she was really becoming very sleepy so she agreed. After they both used the bathroom and changed into their bed clothes, Amanda laid down on the left hand side and Lee took the right hand side. They both settled down on their side and soon fell fast asleep. Oddly enough Amanda found herself dreaming about a sandy haired man with beautiful hazel eyes. She slept very peacefully. Lee also found himself able to sleep soundlessly through the night. He had expected a much longer argument with Amanda about sharing the bed and was glad that it appeared that the alcohol helped relax her so she allowed him to be there. He had no intentions of taking advantage of her and still was in a bit in shock at how much his body had responded to her while they danced. He had tried to not do any more slow dances with her for fear that his body would betray what she was doing to him. He knew that all of this was just because he hadn't been out with one of his women for a while. He decided that he needed to look through his black books and find someone fun to go out with as soon as they got back to DC. That would solve these silly feelings that Amanda was bringing out of him. He soon drifted to sleep.

When he awoke, he found that Amanda had moved to his side of the bed and one of her legs was thrown over his legs while her head was on his chest. He stared down at her, watching her sleep and thinking about how she was really a nice looking woman. His hand automatically reached to pull her hair out of her eyes but he managed to stop himself in time. He slowly eased his body out from under hers and slipped into the bathroom to take a shower. Amanda felt herself being moved and slowly she woke up. She wasn't used to drinking and the beer had definitely affected her. She remembered parts of her dreams and vividly remembered settling against Lee's strong chest in them. She remembered how safe she felt knowing he was there with her. She shook her head to wake herself up and scolded herself for all these thoughts. She needed to start preparing for her mission today. It was up to her to drive the bus through a town as Lee destroyed it. She had no more time for all these other silly thoughts. She did need to make a call to Dean soon. She knew that hearing his voice would help get her mind back where it should be and off Lee Stetson.

Meanwhile, Lee was enjoying a cold shower.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15 - This Town is Going Down

**Chapter 15 - This Town is Going Down  
**

After they had both showered and packed their things, they walked together to a little dive looking place a few blocks away. They were assured that it didn't look like much but that the place served the best French toast you had ever eaten. Amanda almost convinced Lee to eat some but he was afraid that he would get sick and not be able to handle the weapons so he turned it down. They did both agree that the coffee was really good and they each took a second cup for the rest of the trip. They were both anxious to get this day over with so breakfast went by quickly and they barely talked as they both found themselves thinking about the night before.

It had been previously decided that this last day, Amanda would do all the driving and Lee would spend the last 4 hours of their trip making sure he understood how to use the weapons and could run the computer system. It was pretty simple and Lee had already learned how to use it when he had to deal with Gordon and his men but he pretended that he wasn't sure so that he could put some distance between him and Amanda. They barely talked the whole way to the Proving Ground which meant that Amanda didn't have any distractions and made good time. She was pulling in the base at almost exactly noon.

Billy and Francine were already there; along with Congressman Fremont. They were waiting for them as the Bus pulled onto the Base.

Billy said "Great job getting the Bus here both of you. Why don't you come with us and we'll go have some lunch in the Mess tent. Lee motioned for Amanda to go ahead of him but avoided touching her. They stepped inside and helped themselves to plates of Macaroni and Cheese that was being served to the rest of the men. They all sat down at a long table and Amanda decided to sit across from Lee rather than beside of him.

"So did everything go smoothly on your drive here? Anything special happen along the way."

Lee nervously looked at Amanda and cleared his throat and said "Sir, after the Roy incident was taken care of, the rest of the trip has been uneventful."

"Good, Good. So it is all ready for the test then?"

"Yes Sir" Both Amanda and Lee said together. Billy looked a little strangely at the two of them and smiled but didn't say anything.

"Sir? Do you know if Janet made it home safely? I have been really worried about her." Amanda asked.

Billy smiled and assured Amanda that she was home safe and that Roy was up on so many charges that it would be awhile before he would be out so she had nothing to worry about.

Amanda felt relieved.

Lee said "okay, so can we discuss how this whole event is to be played out today?"

Congressman Fremont told him that he was going to have a Lieutenant explain what was happening after lunch. The media would be arriving around 1:30pm so they wanted everything in place before then.

They all finished their lunch and deposited their trays in the dirty bin and then stepped outside. Billy suggested that Francine go to the front gate and await the Press and the other Congressmen that would be viewing the demonstration. After Francine left, Lieutenant Clifford arrived with a map. He used the Vigilante's hood to spread it out so it could be discussed and studied. He told Lee and Amanda that they would enter the town through an entrance that was marked about a hundred yards away from where it was parked now. They would find themselves on a realistic looking Main street of a small town that had 15 buildings. Along the way, they would be faced with obstacles that would require Amanda's driving skills to shine through and Lee's quick handling of the weaponry. Due to the fact that they wanted the demonstration to be realistic, they were not going to be warned about each individual obstacle but were being warned that they existed.

"Sir, are there real people being used in this exercise?" Amanda asked.

"No, you will encounter a lot of people but no one is real. We have stuffed bodies to make it look like there are people all around though." The Lieutenant said.

"Sir, are there innocent people? Children?"

"Yes, we had to make it realistic Amanda."

"So we are supposed to destroy this town and destroy innocent people and children? That doesn't seem right."

"Amanda! They aren't real" Lee said.

"I know but this is supposed to be like a real exercise. Why would you include children in this?"

"Sadly children are taught to harm others and are sent into battle Amanda. Just pretend that this town is a terrorist training camp." Lieutenant Clifford responded.

"Amanda, you just have to drive. I'll be the one shooting the weapons at them anyway."

"I know that Lee, but I still have to drive by them."

Amanda wouldn't calm down until they agreed to take out at least all the dummy's that were children.

"Okay, can we do this now? It looks like the media and the rest of the Congressmen have arrived so it is ShowTime. Are you ready Amanda?" Lee asked.

Amanda sighed and said "Yes, let's do this."

Lee and Amanda boarded the Bus and immediately began bickering.

"I don't know why you can't ever stick up for me?"

"What do you mean? You got your way and they removed the children."

"I know that. What I mean is that you can't possibly believe that if this was a real mission, you would want to go in and blast away a bunch of innocent people."

"No Amanda, I wouldn't like doing that either. But this is a demonstration. It is not real. You have to keep that part in your head. Okay? Please let it go. We need to go do this and do it well so that we can go home. You want to go home, don't you? I think there are 2 boys who would love to see you and probably Dan too."

"Dean."

"Huh?"

"Lee, his name is Dean."

"Oh Right. Yeah, so Dean probably wants you to be home too and your Mother. We can do this. Okay?"

"Okay...let's go do it."

Amanda began driving to the front gate so that everyone can see the Bus as it made its way out to the entrance where the demonstration would begin. At exactly 2 pm, the Private standing at the gate, opened it up and motioned for Amanda to enter. She began driving a straight line to where she knew the main part of the town had been created. As they moved along, they soon came to a barrier of bodies, none of which were children. These people had been set up as protestors to the Bus entering the town. Lee couldn't help but smile and wonder if this was done as an afterthought to symbolize Amanda's protests about the exercise. He immediately armed the water gun and began spraying into the crowd which knocked down the bodies and allowed the Bus to pass peacefully through them. As Amanda continued driving, they suddenly were hit from all sides by gun fire. A group of terrorists had been set up behind sand bags and through simulation, their guns were firing at the Bus. Lee quickly made short work of them by firing at them. After they had all been disposed of, Amanda continued driving and arrived in the town. Lee again began using the guns to shoot out the structures of the town. As he was shooting, suddenly a lone marksman popped up with a Bazooka. Lee didn't notice him at first and heard Amanda yell a warning to him. He quickly took the man out. It took about 15 minutes to shoot up the whole town and leave it in flames from the guns hitting propane, gas and oil tanks.

Amanda then began driving the Bus out of the town to check out the other structures. As they neared the next set, they suddenly had 2 tanks blocking their way. Amanda's quick reflexes got the Bus around them and Lee quickly shot off a missile which destroyed them both with one shot. They continued on their way and quickly reached their destination. As Lee was making short work of the buildings that were still left, Amanda noticed that there was a helicopter hovering over them. She quickly put the Bus back in drive and began driving as fast as she could for the woods.

"Amanda what are you doing? I wasn't done destroying that part of town." Lee said.

Amanda pointed to the Helicopter and said that they had other worries. She weaved in and out of the trees while making it impossible for the helicopter to make an accurate hit on the Bus. Meanwhile, Lee was finally able to zone in on the helicopter and blast it out of the sky with a missile. Amanda turned the bus back around and returned to the final structures so that Lee could finish the job that he had started.

After all the buildings were finally destroyed, Amanda turned the bus back to the final gate and exited in complete victory. As Lee and Amanda walked off the Bus, someone set off confetti all over them and someone else popped the cork on a Champaign bottle. Glasses of Champaign were then passed around and among cheers from everyone, they all toasted the success of the Bus. Amanda stood back not really wanting to be a part of the celebration and watched Lee's face which was covered with a huge smile. Suddenly he looked over and saw that she was staring at him so he lifted his glass in a gesture of a toast and winked at her. Amanda found that she couldn't help but smile back at him. They had finished the mission together and had done a good job. Maybe one day, he would be willing to admit that she was a good partner to him after all. In the meantime, she was just glad that this mission was over and she could go home.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16 - Conclusion and Tag

**Chapter 16 - Conclusion and Tag**

The press came out and interviewed both Lee and Amanda about the Bus. Lee was applauded for doing well with the use of the weapons while Amanda's driving skills were once again complimented. After they both gave a statement, the press turned its attention to Congressman Fremont and everyone else was able to escape. Billy congratulated them both with the success of the mission and told Amanda that he had her booked on the 7pm flight that night.

"What about Lee, Sir?"

"Lee will be going on a flight in the morning. I have a new assignment for him involving the ACM Plant and I want to brief him tonight so he can begin as soon as he is back in DC. Is that okay, Lee?"

"Yes, Billy that is fine. It isn't like I have a hot date or anything."

Francine smiled and said "Why Scarecrow, you didn't pick up any beautiful women on this trip? Oh, maybe the mighty Scarecrow is losing his touch."

"Can it Francine" Lee said

"Oh, apparently I hit a sore spot. Well I am going to go back to my hotel and get a shower now to wash off all the dust that this bus created this afternoon. Perhaps, I will see you for dinner Lee or perhaps you will try making up for lost time?"

"Goodbye Francine"

"Goodbye Lee, Goodbye Amanda. Thanks for taking time out to help us out with the Bus. I'm sure you will be happy to go back to being a housewife now."

Amanda smiled and said "You never know when I'll be needed again Francine. Perhaps next time, I will need to help you out."

"Don't count on it dear." And with that Francine headed back to the front gate to grab a ride with the Congressman.

Billy smiled at Amanda and said "Don't let her bother you. She is just grumpy because I made her come out here with me."

"Oh, she doesn't bother me too much Sir. I have learned to just ignore Francine."

"Smart move Amanda" Billy said. "Lee, I will see you in a couple of hours. I'm going back to the hotel also and take a nap. When you are ready, just let Lieutenant Clifford know and he will drive you to the hotel. You are in the room next to mine, #121 I'll see you later. Amanda, thanks again for all your help. Here is the paperwork you need to fly back home. You did a great job!"

"Thank you Sir"

Billy walked off and left the two of them alone.

Lee folded his arms across his chest and said "Amanda, ummm, thanks for helping me out...you know with the driving and helping me with my leg."

"I was glad I could help. It was an interesting trip, wasn't it?"

"Yes, very interesting trip. Amanda, we should probably talk about what happened."

"What do you mean, Lee?"

"You know...what happened last night."

"Did something happen?" Amanda had to admit that it was kind of fun watching Lee squirm a little.

"AMANDA! Don't you remember, I think you had a little too much to drink and forgot some things?"

"What kind of things Lee?"

"Well you know..ummm, dancing too close, sleeping in the same bed, things."

"Lee are you telling me that we slept together?"

Lee's head shot up and he said "No Amanda, that wasn't what I meant. I just meant we slept in the same bed and possibly while we were asleep, our bodies might have moved us a little too close and ummmm, nothing happened. Okay?"

"I know that. Of course nothing happened. Why would anything happen?"

"Exactly. So anyway, have a good flight home and enjoy being with your sons again and Amanda, why are you smiling?"

"Oh, ummm, nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, nothing."

"Amanda, most people don't smile like that over nothing."

"I just thought of something funny is all."

"Really? I thought we were having kind of a serious talk here?"

"Exactly"

And with that, Amanda turned and walked to the gate to get a ride to the Airport leaving a confused Lee looking after her.

The End

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A/N - Don't worry, this ending will be explored more in the next installment. :)


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